FLSA Opinion Letter: Employee Volunteering

The Department of Labor (DOL) released Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) opinion letter FLSA2026-12 on September 7, 2026, that provides clarity on the compensability of time spent volunteering for employees working for a nonprofit organization.

The FLSA includes provisions for employees volunteering for public sector employers, and the DOL has consistently applied the same requirements for nonprofit organizations.

The Situation

A nonprofit organization that breeds, raises, and trains service dogs, employs both exempt and nonexempt staff. The organization also allows non-employee volunteers to serve as specialized fosters for puppies prior to their training at the facility. The organization wrote the DOL to ask if their exempt employees could volunteer to serve in the foster role, in addition to their paid duties.

Findings

Although the question was related to exempt employees, the DOL included nonexempt employees in their response. According to the FLSA, an employment relationship does not exist when a public sector employee volunteers, as long as the individual offers the services freely and without coercion, is not paid and does not expect to be paid for the services, and the volunteer work is not the same type of work that the employee performs for pay.

Application to Education

The opinion letter shared examples of employee/volunteer relationships, some directly applicable to jobs in public education.

• A bus driver for a school district cannot volunteer to drive a basketball team to away games because the primary purpose of the driver’s paid job is transporting students.
• A bus driver can volunteer as an assistant basketball coach because these duties are significantly different.
• A secretary can volunteer to chaperone a trip because the regular duties of a secretary do not include supervising children.

Reminder

Exempt and nonexempt employees of school districts and colleges are free to volunteer for the same organization as long as the following conditions are met:

• The individual volunteers, completely free of coercion,
• The individual is not paid and does not expect to be paid for the service, and
• The volunteer work is not similar or the same as the employee’s paid job.

Public sector employers should exercise caution when engaging employees as volunteers. An accidental misclassification could be costly.

Resources

• Infographic: Determining Compensability of Volunteer Time for Nonexempt Employees
• Volunteers: Best Practices
• The Basics on Volunteers and Volunteering in Your District