Sue is an hourly employee subject to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. She decides to stay after work and help out on a project.
Because her employer is a small business with limited funds, she agrees to help out after hours on a volunteer basis, and even signs an agreement that she is volunteering for the company and does not expect to be paid.
She later changes her mind and demands that she be paid overtime for the extra hours worked.
1. Must the employer pay her the overtime?
2. Why or why not?
As per the Fair Labor Standards Act, any large or small business are prohibited from letting its employee volunteer for the organization which operates for-profit and are private employers. Even though Sue has signed an agreement with her employer to volunteer for a project and does not expect to get paid but it is against the Fair Labor Standard Acts regulation to perform any work apart from her regular job duties.
Therefore, employer must pay her overtime as she is working after her regular working hours which is considered to be overtime. Potential lawsuits or wage and hour complaint can be filed against the Sue's employer for violating the law and letting her volunteer her services. Federal Labor Standards Act, covers even the small employers and no such exception is provided to them which makes them eligible to make employees volunteer for them extra hours without any compensation.
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