Nonprofits get real latitude to use volunteers and unpaid interns — but cross a line and that "volunteer" becomes an employee owed back wages, penalties, and attorney fees.

QIM 33 | Employment Law | Law Desk

Ava: Michael, nonprofits run on volunteers and unpaid interns. When does that cross the line into an illegal unpaid job?

Michael Benavides, Esq.: Nonprofits do get more latitude than for-profit businesses — a genuine volunteer who serves a charitable organization freely, for personal or charitable reasons, with no expectation of pay ordinarily isn't an employee for wage purposes. The problem is when the label "volunteer" or "intern" is put on someone who is really doing the organization's regular work.

Ava: How does the law tell the difference?

Michael Benavides, Esq.: It looks at the substance, not the title. The key questions: is the person serving for their own charitable or educational benefit, or to get compensation in some form? Are they displacing paid employees or doing work the organization would otherwise have to pay someone to do? If the arrangement primarily benefits the organization rather than the worker, wage and hour law can apply — even at a nonprofit.

Ava: And if a "volunteer" was really an employee the whole time?

Michael Benavides, Esq.: Then the exposure is real. A misclassified worker can recover back wages at minimum wage or their regular rate, overtime, interest, penalties, and attorney fees. For a nonprofit running on a thin budget, an unpaid-intern program that crosses the line can turn into a serious liability.

Ava: Advice for both sides?

Michael Benavides, Esq.: Organizations should keep volunteer roles genuinely voluntary, avoid using unpaid people to replace staff, and be honest about what an internship really provides. Workers who suspect they were misclassified should document their hours and duties. Honest caveat: the volunteer-versus-employee line is intensely fact-specific, and government and educational nonprofits have their own nuances — so close cases deserve a real look.

Talk it through with Law Desk. If you're a nonprofit worried about a volunteer program — or a worker who thinks they should have been paid — a California attorney can evaluate it. Schedule a consultation with Michael Benavides, Esq.

Disclaimer

Attorney advertising. General information about California wage-and-hour law, not legal advice; reading it creates no attorney-client relationship. Volunteer-versus-employee questions are highly fact-specific; statutes and case law change and are applied differently to different facts — confirm the current rules with a licensed California attorney before acting. Michael Benavides, Esq. — California State Bar No. 270714 — is the only licensed attorney and the source of every legal statement here. Ava Benavides is an editorial brand voice, not an attorney, and does not give legal advice in her own name.