Can an employee volunteer hours?

[sdlegal]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

An employee who is working a part-time position at a for-profit company wants to volunteer additional hours performing either the same job or a totally different job. Is this legal?

 

[Zigner]

No, it is not legal for the worker to work unpaid.

 

[sdlegal]

What if the worker does so without approval from management. How can the company protect itself? For example, a contract that states this?

In other words, employee could volunteer additional hours unbeknownst to management and then if fired try to claim breach of this law.

 

[justalayman]

sdlegal;3252651]What if the worker does so without approval from management. How can the company protect itself?

when discovered, the company pays the employee and then promptly fires the employee so as to avoid future issues of the same making.

 

[sdlegal]

There are two different companies under one roof, owned by the same corporation but operating as different brand names with different services. Can he volunteer in one and work as a paid employee in the other?

 

[sdlegal]

when discovered, the company pays the employee and then promptly fires the employee so as to avoid future issues of the same making.

Pays for the hours worked under contract or the volunteer hours?

 

[justalayman]

Pays for the hours worked under contract or the volunteer hours?

an employer cannot allow you to volunteer time in an employee type situation so, there are no volunteer hours. There are only hours that have been worked and paid and hours that have been worked and not been paid.

 

[cbg]

There are no circumstances whatsoever under which an employee can volunteer at a for-profit institution. There are very limited circumstances under which he can do so at a non-profit.

The rules under which a student intern can legally be unpaid are very stringent and from what you are saying do not apply here.

I hope this now clarifies all the but-what-ifs you have in mind.

 

[sdlegal]

Yes, thank you.

 

[sdlegal]

What if the company wants to give a part ownership role to the employee, so he becomes a shareholder with a position on the board of the company. He is still an employee because it is a corporation but he is also a part owner.

Example: right now the sole shareholder of the corporation is working many hours unpaid, but it is his company. Could the same scenario be adopted if the employee wanted to become a partner in the company?

 

[davew128]

An officer of the corporation (such as a director) is considered a statutory employee.

 

[sdlegal]

Okay. This means that the owner has to pay himself for all hours worked, regardless.

Pretty interesting.

 

[Zigner]

You're mixing apples, oranges, and cucumbers.

 

[justalayman]

What if the company wants to give a part ownership role to the employee, so he becomes a shareholder with a position on the board of the company. He is still an employee because it is a corporation but he is also a part owner.

Example: right now the sole shareholder of the corporation is working many hours unpaid, but it is his company. Could the same scenario be adopted if the employee wanted to become a partner in the company?

I've got to ask:

how would this "volunteer" become a shareholder of the company if this is even a consideration:

What if the worker does so without approval from management. How can the company protect itself? For example, a contract that states this? (and my addition: how can a worker volunteer without the approval of management and have a contract addressing the possibility of the worker "volunteering"? Kind of beats the Hell out of any right of deniability on the employers part)

In other words, employee could volunteer additional hours unbeknownst to management and then if fired try to claim breach of this law.

 

[eerelations]

This is so obviously a homework assignment.