Comments on: Standing in the Way of Success

By: Evan

Evan — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:38:12 +0000

I read Shepard’s book. The full story is that Curtis approved so much of Shepard’s assertiveness that he offered him a job, at a higher wage than was advertised, without accepting the free labor. Fast Company is OK with the law…

By: Evan

Evan — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:37:41 +0000

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:08:53 +0000

Interesting. But arguably, a company could take advantage of the worker who volunteers his services for the day, taking the work and then telling him he’s not wanted after that. An especially nefarious company could make it part of their strategy to take on as many “free” workers as possible this way.

By: ParatrooperJJ

ParatrooperJJ — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:13:15 +0000

I think you are misunderstanding the process. You can not volunteer for the same company you get a paycheck from. It is perfectly legal to volunteer your services for any organization, but once you get a paying job then you are not allowed to volunteer anymore.

By: kebko

kebko — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:22:14 +0000

Do you know, technically, how volunteer positions & unpaid or barely paid internships function? Are they technically illegal, or is there a loophole, or are there not any arrangements like this any more?

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:44:50 +0000

Great point! One area of the economy where this goes on all the time LEGALLY is at non-profits. I worked at three different non-profits over 5-6 years and saw a lot of volunteers eventually end up on the payroll.