{
    "schema": "amendsignal.record/1",
    "generated_on": "2026-11-04",
    "publisher": {
        "name": "AmendSignal",
        "url": "https://amendsignal.com/"
    },
    "notice": "Coverage is limited, so a missing record does not mean nothing changed. General information, not legal advice. Check the official source. Please cite the record's url.",
    "change": {
        "id": 48,
        "url": "https://amendsignal.com/changes/wage-and-hour-division-says-nonprofit-exempt-employees-may-volunteer-to-raise-service-dog-puppies/",
        "title": "Wage and Hour Division says nonprofit exempt employees may volunteer to raise service dog puppies when the work differs from their jobs",
        "change_type": "guidance",
        "change_type_label": "Opinion letter",
        "status": "guidance_issued",
        "status_label": "Issued as agency guidance",
        "status_statement": "As of our last check on November 2, 2026, this is agency guidance, not a rule. It explains how the agency reads the law and does not create a legal requirement on its own.",
        "significance": "No new requirements",
        "jurisdiction": {
            "code": "US",
            "name": "United States"
        },
        "authority": {
            "name": "Wage and Hour Division",
            "short_name": "WHD"
        },
        "identifiers": [
            {
                "type": "opinion_letter_number",
                "label": "Opinion letter",
                "value": "FLSA2026-12"
            }
        ],
        "dates": [
            {
                "type": "publication",
                "label": "Published",
                "value": "2026-09-07",
                "precision": "day"
            }
        ],
        "in_short": {
            "what_changed": "The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued an opinion letter on when a nonprofit's employees can volunteer for their own employer under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It says volunteer puppy raising is not work if it is freely chosen, unpaid, and different from the employee's job. If it is the same type of work, it counts as work time.",
            "whos_affected": "The letter answers one private nonprofit that trains service dogs. WHD says it applies the same volunteer limits to religious, charitable and nonprofit employers generally, for both exempt and non-exempt employees.",
            "what_to_do": "This guidance creates no new legal requirement. Nonprofits that let employees volunteer should check that volunteer tasks differ from job duties, and should pay non-exempt employees for any same-type \"volunteer\" hours, as existing FLSA rules require."
        },
        "summary": "The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division issued an opinion letter to a private nonprofit that breeds and trains service dogs. It says the nonprofit's exempt employees may volunteer to raise puppies at home without that time counting as work under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), if they volunteer freely, expect no pay, and the tasks are not the same type of work they are employed to do. Where the tasks match their jobs, the time is work, but an exempt employee's salary can cover it if the employee still meets the exemption.",
        "business_functions": {
            "state": "limited",
            "functions": [
                {
                    "slug": "human-resources",
                    "name": "Human resources"
                },
                {
                    "slug": "payroll",
                    "name": "Payroll"
                },
                {
                    "slug": "legal-and-compliance",
                    "name": "Legal and compliance"
                }
            ]
        },
        "added_on": "2026-11-03",
        "updated_on": null,
        "updates_in_progress": null,
        "last_checked": "2026-11-02",
        "record_url": "https://amendsignal.com/changes/wage-and-hour-division-says-nonprofit-exempt-employees-may-volunteer-to-raise-service-dog-puppies/record.json",
        "what_changed": [
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued opinion letter FLSA2026-12 answering whether a nonprofit's exempt employees may volunteer outside work hours to raise and socialize young service dogs for their employer.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Introduction",
                        "excerpt": "whether, to what extent, and under what circumstances exempt employees of a nonprofit organization that breeds and trains service dogs may volunteer outside of their normal work hours"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "WHD says the employees may volunteer if they do so freely and without coercion, with no expectation of pay, and the volunteer tasks are not the same type of work they are employed to do.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Introduction",
                        "excerpt": "your nonprofit organization’s exempt employees may volunteer for the organization to provide juvenile canine socialization services at home so long as they do so freely and without coercion, with no contemplation of pay for the volunteer services rendered"
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Introduction",
                        "excerpt": "and the volunteer services are not the same type of services you employ the employees to perform."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "WHD says a nonprofit employee cannot be both a paid employee and an unpaid volunteer while doing the same type of work for the same employer. When the volunteer work is the same type as the job, the hours count as hours worked.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, B. Volunteering by Employees for Their Employer",
                        "excerpt": "a nonprofit employee cannot be both a paid employee and a non-paid volunteer while performing the same type of work for the same employer."
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion, A. Volunteering by Employees",
                        "excerpt": "the volunteer hours are part of the employment relationship and must be counted as hours worked for FLSA purposes as long as they qualify as compensable worktime under the FLSA."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "Assuming veterinarians provide medical care and directors supervise staff, WHD says both could volunteer to raise puppies at home. Trainers who care for, socialize or train the dogs likely could not, because that is the same or similar work.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion, A. Volunteering by Employees",
                        "excerpt": "the veterinarians’ and directors’ duties would be sufficiently different from the routine care, socialization, and early training involved in raising juvenile canines, and veterinarians and directors could volunteer to provide these services in their homes."
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion, A. Volunteering by Employees",
                        "excerpt": "those duties would likely be the same or sufficiently similar to the services performed by juvenile canine caretakers, such that the trainers may not volunteer for your organization to care for or train canines at home"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "WHD says whether an employee can volunteer does not depend on exempt status. But where the work is the same type as the job, an exempt employee's salary can cover the extra hours with no added pay, if the employee's primary duty stays exempt work and salary requirements are met.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion, A. Volunteering by Employees",
                        "excerpt": "whether an employee may serve as a volunteer does not depend on his or her exempt status"
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Introduction",
                        "excerpt": "an employee who is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements under section 13(a)(1) may perform additional juvenile canine socialization work without additional compensation if the employee’s primary duty remains the performance of exempt work"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "WHD describes the letter as an official interpretation that employers may rely on under section 10 of the Portal-to-Portal Act.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Conclusion",
                        "excerpt": "This interpretation may be relied upon in accordance with section 10 of the Portal-to-Portal Act"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "The letter does not withdraw earlier guidance. WHD says it has consistently applied these volunteer limits to employees of religious, charitable and nonprofit organizations.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, B. Volunteering by Employees for Their Employer",
                        "excerpt": "the Division has consistently applied the same requirements to employees of religious, charitable, or nonprofit organizations who volunteer their services to their employing organization"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "who_is_affected": [
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "The letter answers a request made on behalf of a private nonprofit that breeds, raises and trains service dogs.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Background",
                        "excerpt": "You inquire on behalf of a private, nonprofit organization that breeds, raises, and trains service dogs to assist individuals with visual impairments and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "WHD says the opinion rests only on the facts the requester described, and other facts could lead to a different conclusion.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Closing note",
                        "excerpt": "This opinion is based exclusively on the facts and circumstances described in your request"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "text": "The volunteer reasoning reaches religious, charitable and nonprofit employers generally whose employees volunteer for them, not only service dog organizations.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, B. Volunteering by Employees for Their Employer",
                        "excerpt": "the Division has consistently applied the same requirements to employees of religious, charitable, or nonprofit organizations who volunteer their services to their employing organization for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "The volunteer rules apply to exempt and non-exempt nonprofit employees alike.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion, A. Volunteering by Employees",
                        "excerpt": "Exempt and non-exempt nonprofit employees alike may volunteer to be juvenile canine caretakers"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "business_implications": [
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "WHD warns nonprofits to take care when using employees as volunteers. Misclassifying the time can bring back wages and overtime, liquidated damages and attorneys' fees.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Conclusion",
                        "excerpt": "nonprofit employers should exercise caution when engaging employees as volunteers to ensure they are not inadvertently misclassified under the Act."
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Conclusion",
                        "excerpt": "a nonprofit could face potential liability, including back wages and overtime, liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees, among other things."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "Employees cannot give up their right to FLSA pay by calling the work volunteering, and cannot be required to agree to do so.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, B. Volunteering by Employees for Their Employer",
                        "excerpt": "employees cannot agree, or be required to “agree,” to waive their rights to compensation under the FLSA under the guise of volunteering."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "Whether volunteer work is the same or similar to the job depends on all the facts, including how closely it relates to the employee's actual duties.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, B. Volunteering by Employees for Their Employer",
                        "excerpt": "requires “consideration of all the facts and circumstances in a particular case, including whether the volunteer service is closely related to the actual duties performed by or responsibilities assigned to the employee.”"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "Volunteers may receive expenses, reasonable benefits or a nominal fee, but a fee is not nominal if it substitutes for pay or is tied to productivity.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Footnote 3",
                        "excerpt": "Volunteers may be “paid expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee.”"
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Footnote 3",
                        "excerpt": "a fee would not be considered nominal if it is, in fact, a substitute for compensation or tied to productivity"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "text": "For non-exempt employees, same-type \"volunteer\" hours add to paid hours, which can push a workweek into overtime and raise labor costs.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, C.3. Impact of Volunteering on an Employee’s Exemption Status",
                        "excerpt": "In those circumstances, for a non-exempt employee, the employer must pay for all combined hours worked, including any “volunteer” hours, pursuant to the Act."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "To be exempt, an employee must be paid on a salary basis at or above the regulatory level, which the letter states is $684 per week. The salary requirements do not apply to licensed veterinarians actually practicing medicine.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, C.2. Salary Basis and Level",
                        "excerpt": "to be exempt under section 13(a)(1), an employee must be compensated (1) on a salary basis (2) at a rate equaling or exceeding the level specified in the regulations."
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Footnote 7",
                        "excerpt": "The minimum salary level is $684 per week."
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Footnote 8",
                        "excerpt": "The salary requirements do not apply, as may be relevant here, to bona fide practitioners of medicine, including Doctors of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or Veterinariae Medicinae Doctoris (VMD) who hold a valid license and are actually engaged in the practice of medicine."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "WHD does not decide whether the requester's employees are properly classified as exempt, or whether puppy raising would change an exempt employee's primary duty.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Footnote 12",
                        "excerpt": "we do not opine whether the employees you identify are, in fact, properly exempt in the first instance."
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion, B. Effect of Additional Non-Volunteer Work on Exemption Status",
                        "excerpt": "Further analysis would be necessary to determine whether the employee’s primary duty, and therefore exemption status, would be affected by serving as a juvenile canine caretaker."
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "required_actions": [
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "The letter restates the existing FLSA requirement that covered employers pay at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked, and overtime at one and one-half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, A. The Fair Labor Standards Act",
                        "excerpt": "The Act requires covered employers to pay employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay ... for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "WHD reads the FLSA to require that when a non-exempt employee's \"volunteer\" work is the same or similar type as their job, the employer pay for all combined hours worked, including the volunteer hours.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, C.3. Impact of Volunteering on an Employee’s Exemption Status",
                        "excerpt": "In those circumstances, for a non-exempt employee, the employer must pay for all combined hours worked, including any “volunteer” hours, pursuant to the Act."
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "recommended_actions": [
            {
                "kind": "recommendation",
                "kind_label": "Our suggestion",
                "text": "Consider listing which employees volunteer for your nonprofit and comparing each person's volunteer tasks with their job duties.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, B. Volunteering by Employees for Their Employer",
                        "excerpt": "an employee of a nonprofit organization may, freely and without coercion from the employer or its agents, volunteer to perform work that is neither the same nor of similar type as the work that the employee is employed to perform."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "recommendation",
                "kind_label": "Our suggestion",
                "text": "Consider making sure employee volunteering is freely chosen, not tied to the job, and carries no promise or expectation of pay.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion, A. Volunteering by Employees",
                        "excerpt": "the employees must also offer their volunteer services “freely and without pressure or coercion, direct or implied” from your organization and “without promise, expectation or receipt of compensation for services rendered.”"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "recommendation",
                "kind_label": "Our suggestion",
                "text": "Consider recording and paying the hours non-exempt employees spend on volunteer work that matches their jobs.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, C.3. Impact of Volunteering on an Employee’s Exemption Status",
                        "excerpt": "In those circumstances, for a non-exempt employee, the employer must pay for all combined hours worked, including any “volunteer” hours, pursuant to the Act."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "recommendation",
                "kind_label": "Our suggestion",
                "text": "Consider reviewing whether exempt employees who take on same-type extra work still have exempt work as their primary duty and still meet the salary requirements.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion, B. Effect of Additional Non-Volunteer Work on Exemption Status",
                        "excerpt": "Further analysis would be necessary to determine whether the employee’s primary duty, and therefore exemption status, would be affected by serving as a juvenile canine caretaker."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "recommendation",
                "kind_label": "Our suggestion",
                "text": "Consider checking that any stipend or fee paid to employee volunteers stays nominal and is not tied to productivity.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Footnote 3",
                        "excerpt": "a fee would not be considered nominal if it is, in fact, a substitute for compensation or tied to productivity"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "required_actions_assessment": null,
        "applicability": [
            {
                "criterion": "where",
                "label": "Where",
                "answer": "United States, nationwide",
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "evidence": []
            },
            {
                "criterion": "employer_type",
                "label": "Employers",
                "answer": "Religious, charitable and nonprofit employers whose own employees volunteer for them; the letter itself answers one private nonprofit that trains service dogs.",
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, B. Volunteering by Employees for Their Employer",
                        "excerpt": "the Division has consistently applied the same requirements to employees of religious, charitable, or nonprofit organizations who volunteer their services to their employing organization"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "criterion": "size",
                "label": "Size",
                "answer": "The letter sets no size threshold; it assumes the employer or its employees are covered by the FLSA.",
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Footnote 2",
                        "excerpt": "As a preliminary matter, we assume your organization or the employees at issue satisfy the Act’s requirements for coverage."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "criterion": "industries",
                "label": "Industries",
                "answer": "Nonprofits in any field; the facts involve a nonprofit that breeds, raises and trains service dogs.",
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Background",
                        "excerpt": "You inquire on behalf of a private, nonprofit organization that breeds, raises, and trains service dogs"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "criterion": "functions",
                "label": "Functions",
                "answer": "Human resources, payroll and legal or compliance teams that run volunteer programs and classify employees as exempt.",
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "Conclusion",
                        "excerpt": "nonprofit employers should exercise caution when engaging employees as volunteers to ensure they are not inadvertently misclassified under the Act."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "criterion": "applies_if",
                "label": "Applies if",
                "answer": "Your nonprofit lets its own employees volunteer for it outside their work hours.",
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, B. Volunteering by Employees for Their Employer",
                        "excerpt": "an employee of a nonprofit organization may, freely and without coercion from the employer or its agents, volunteer to perform work that is neither the same nor of similar type as the work that the employee is employed to perform."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "criterion": "action",
                "label": "Action",
                "answer": "Compare volunteer tasks with job duties, and pay non-exempt employees for same-type volunteer hours.",
                "kind": "recommendation",
                "kind_label": "Our suggestion",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, C.3. Impact of Volunteering on an Employee’s Exemption Status",
                        "excerpt": "In those circumstances, for a non-exempt employee, the employer must pay for all combined hours worked, including any “volunteer” hours, pursuant to the Act."
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "open_questions": [
            {
                "question": "Would raising puppies at home as part of the job change an exempt employee's primary duty, and so their exempt status?",
                "context": "The letter says further analysis would be needed and does not decide it on the facts given."
            },
            {
                "question": "Is $684 per week still the minimum salary for the executive, administrative and professional exemption?",
                "context": "The letter states the $684 weekly level but also cites a May 15, 2026 Federal Register document (volume 91, page 27833) without saying what that document does."
            }
        ],
        "events": [
            {
                "event_type": "originating_action",
                "label": "Issued",
                "occurred_on": "2026-09-07",
                "summary": "FLSA2026-12: Whether FLSA-exempt employees of a nonprofit organization may volunteer outside of their normal work hours for their employing organization.",
                "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf"
            }
        ],
        "corrections": [],
        "sources": [
            {
                "label": "Whether FLSA-exempt employees of a nonprofit organization may volunteer outside of their normal work hours for their employing organization.",
                "publisher": "Wage and Hour Division",
                "role": "primary",
                "url": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/FLSA2026-12.pdf"
            }
        ]
    }
}