Volunteer Hours
bwebb017
1 Post
We are a health care organization in Missouri and from time to time our (hourly) employees have been doing volunteer work after work hours, which benefits our company ie. ALS walk, Alzheimer's Walk, doing errands for patients etc...
If I understand FSLA correctly, these hours must be logged on a time sheet and the employee compensated for those hours. Are we interpreting FSLA correctly? These employees cannot be both a volunteer and employee for our company if I am reading things correctly.
Comments
Since it is benefitting your company, I agree that they should be paid.
Here's a good DOL opinion letter to read through: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/opinion/FLSA/2006/2006_01_27_04_FLSA.htm
Here are exerpts:
"You present several scenarios involving work group employees volunteering and ask whether under the FLSA these activities may be performed without compensation, or whether the employer must pay the non-exempt employees for these activities. The employer never requires the employees to volunteer but does actively promote participation in the volunteer activities. The right or expectation of continued employment is not affected by an employee’s decision to participate or not participate in any such civic or charitable activities. The volunteer work in question is performed outside of normal working hours. If the employees were to perform volunteer work during normal working hours, with prior approval, they would be compensated for this time. ...However, when an employer directs an employee to volunteer, that time is compensable. The regulations state:
Time spent in work for public or charitable purposes at the employer's request, or under his direction or control, or while the employee is required to be on the premises, is working time. However, time spent voluntarily in such activities outside of the employee's normal working hours is not hours worked. 29 C.F.R. § 785.44 (copy enclosed). Therefore, we caution that volunteer activities “must be truly voluntary and any coercion or pressure, whether direct or indirect by the [employer] to participate in this program outside of [] duty hours would negate the voluntary nature of the program.” WH Opinion Letter January 29, 1999 (copy enclosed). As explained below, employers may encourage their employees to volunteer their services for public or charitable purposes outside of normal working hours without incurring an obligation to treat that time as hours worked so long as participation is optional and non-participation will not adversely affect working conditions or employment prospects. "