The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued an opinion letter addressing whether exempt employees of a nonprofit organization can volunteer outside of their normal work hours without being owed compensation for the time spent on the volunteer activities under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The organization that posed the question is engaged in breeding, raising, and training service dogs to assist individuals with disabilities. The organization asked the DOL whether exempt employees, such as veterinarians, service-dog trainers, and directors who oversee the trainers, must be paid for time spent voluntarily taking care of, socializing, and training puppies in their home outside of their regular schedule. Participation in “juvenile canine socialization services” is voluntary and not a job requirement. The organization also affirmed that these services don’t interfere with the exempt employees’ regular work duties.
The DOL noted that the framework for determining whether “volunteer” activities are part of the FLSA employment relationship applies equally to exempt and nonexempt (overtime-eligible) employees. The DOL stated that employees of nonprofit organizations may volunteer for their employer for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons when the volunteer services are: (1) offered freely and without coercion; (2) performed without any expectation of compensation; and (3) not the same or similar to the services the employee is employed to perform.
The DOL stated that the veterinarians and directors would generally meet the test because their employment duties aren’t the same or similar to the proposed volunteer activities of caring for, socializing, or training puppies at home. In contrast, dog trainers who volunteer for these activities are actually working during that time because the volunteer activities are too similar to their regular job duties. If the volunteer services don’t satisfy all three conditions, the employee is performing extra work as part of the employment relationship. This may or may not pose a problem depending on how the worker is classified and how much time is involved. If the employee is nonexempt, that extra work time would be compensable under the FLSA. If the employee is exempt, the employer might not have to pay for the extra work time as long as the employee’s primary duty (taking into account all hours worked) is still exempt from overtime (DOL opinion letter FLSA2026-12).
Tips: As we have previously reported, it is well established that employees of for-profit companies cannot ever “volunteer” to perform work on their own time. An employer that is a nonprofit organization doesn’t get an automatic free pass though. As the DOL’s letter shows, nonprofit organizations still have to look closely at their employees’ offers to volunteer for their organizations to determine whether the time qualifies as unpaid volunteer activities or as FLSA-covered work. Employees cannot waive their right under the FLSA to be paid for all hours worked if they are classified as nonexempt or in accordance with salary-basis rules if they are classified as exempt. To be lawfully classified as a volunteer, the worker must fall outside of the FLSA definition of “employee” while performing the volunteer activity. All three elements of the DOL’s test must be squarely met to avoid liability for paying wages to employees for activities that are mistakenly labeled as “volunteer activities” but are actually FLSA-covered work.
Wage and hour laws are narrowly applied, and each situation must be examined based on the specific facts presented. See our Legal Guide, Compensation for Volunteers, for help determining whether an individual is working as a volunteer or an employee. Not sure whether you’ve correctly classified a worker as exempt from overtime? See our Legal Guides, When Is an Employee Exempt Under Federal Law?, Salary Basis Test for Overtime Exemptions, and State Laws on the White Collar Exemptions from Overtime, and members, contact your Vigilant Law Group employment attorney for advice.
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