if I work for a nonprofit organization do I have to put in volunteer hrs? it was not in the job description?

Question

and my boss wont pay me for more than 160 hrs a month.

Answer 1

You should check your employmee handbook - in some cases, if you have an exempt position a certain degree of overtime may be expected to meet deadlines, etc., just like in any company.

Answer 2

Are you in a "salaried" or "hourly" position?

If you are in a "salaried" (or exempt) position, you may be out of luck. However, you may have the option of requesting "comp" time off for the additional hours worked.

If you are in an "hourly" (or nonexempt) position, any volunteer hours are strictly voluntary. If you are required to work extra hours, you should be compensated for those extra hours.

However, I've worked in numerous non-profit organizations in both exempt and nonexempt positions and part of the culture of the organization was to put in extra hours for the mission of the organization. It was never mandatory, but expected. Most folks were committed to the mission, so they did it on a voluntary basis.

Answer 3

No, you do not have to put in volunteer hours. If you are employed by the organization, you should get paid for your time. If you are on salary, you may need to work extra hours, but that isn't "volunteer" hours - that's just the reality of a salary job. If you're hourly, then just work your 160 hours - you're under no obligation to work from free if you're hourly.

Answer 4

Contact the Labor Department for information on what is and isn't legal. It's possible that your company is required to either pay you or offer comp time off.

You can google the Labor Dept. online or find a phone number for the nearest office and call.

If you do find your boss is required to offer some form of compensation--payment or time off--you might want to think through how you'll approach him/her, and whether it's worth it to tackle the company on this. If you're rarely asked to volunteer your time, I'm not sure I'd make an issue of it, since it could make you look bad to your boss.

If you're frequently asked to "volunteer" your time, though, it needs to be addressed--but you'll want to find someone who is business-savvy to coach you on how to approach not only your boss but upper management and Human Resources as well.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Not usually. Sometimes non-profits will give you opportunities where you can volunteer but it's not a requirement. If your company does want you to put in so many volunteer hours a year, that should be laid out ahead of time in your job description or in some preliminary form you went over with your HR dept.

There are two types of positions in a company....exempt (40 hrs per week) and non-exempt (hourly). Sounds like you're in the exempt category.

Answer 6

I also work for a non-profit and I do get paid. I also have a limit of hours that they require me to put in. I didn't volunteer at all. So, you don't have to.