Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employees of for-profit companies cannot "volunteer" to provide additional uncompensated work. The rules are a little different for nonprofit organizations. In a recent opinion letter, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division advised that in certain circumstances, the nonprofit’s employees can also provide unpaid volunteer services to the organization.

In opinion letter FLSA2026-12, the employer trains and provides service dogs. It asked whether employees could volunteer to socialize puppies in their homes outside of regular working hours. The organization said that these activities are voluntary, not a job requirement, and do not interfere with regular work responsibilities.

DOL responded that based on these facts, the volunteer work can be provided without additional compensation to the employees. If the employees' regular duties do not involve such socialization, and are therefore substantially different from the volunteer work, the employer can accept such services without any obligation to pay regular wages or overtime.

These decisions are fact-specific, and if the employee’s regular job duties are arguably similar to those provided as a purported volunteer, DOL may reach a different conclusion in the event of an audit of these practices.

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