Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor

Public Sector Volunteers

Public sector employees may volunteer to do different kinds of work in the jurisdiction in which they are employed, or volunteer to do similar work in different jurisdictions. For example, police officers can volunteer different work (non-law enforcement related) in city parks and schools, or can volunteer to perform law enforcement for a different jurisdiction than where they are employed

The Department of Labor's Regulations 29 C.F.R. §553.103, define "same type of services" to mean similar or identical services. In general, DOL would consider the duties and other factors contained in the definitions of occupations in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles in determining whether the volunteer activities constitute the "same type of services" as the employment activities.

Equally important is whether the volunteer service is closely related to the actual duties performed by or responsibilities assigned to the employee who "volunteers."

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