Page 221 - Washington Nonprofit Handbook 2018 Edition

• The activity does not take place during the employee’s regular working
hours; and

• The volunteer time is insubstantial in relation to the employee’s
regular hours.

Whether using employee volunteers or regular volunteers, nonprofit
employers should strongly consider drafting a short form that a volunteer must
sign before he or she begins volunteering. The employee volunteer form should
incorporate the first, second and fourth points above, and the non-employee
volunteer form should include point 1 above.

Many nonprofit organizations also hire unpaid interns. It is generally
permissible for nonprofits to have unpaid interns so long as the individuals qualify
as “volunteers” (i.e., are free from control and have no expectation of payment) or
they meet all six criteria listed below to be exempt from minimum wage law:

• The internship, though it includes actual operation of the facilities of
the employer, is similar to training that would be given in an
educational environment.

• The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern.

• The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close
supervision of existing staff.

• The employer that provides the training derives no immediate
advantage from the activities of the intern, and on occasion its
operations may actually be impeded.

• The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the
internship.

• The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled
to wages for the time spent in the internship.

If, however, an intern is paid more than a nominal stipend or expense
reimbursement, then he or she will be considered an employee who is entitled to
wages and overtime pay in accordance with the WMWA. See Wash. State Dep’t of
Labor & Indus., Unpaid Internships 101, http://www.lni.wa.gov/IPUB/700-173-000
.pdf (last visited Mar. 2, 2018); see also Chapter 72 for a discussion regarding
ownership of intellectual property created by volunteers.

WASHINGTON NONPROFIT HANDBOOK -210- 2018