Wage and Hour Issue of Volunteers in the Computer Age

Although the headline and lead paragraph are a little overreaching, the Chicago Tribune article about AOL's desire to have the law clarified that 'volunteers' are not entitled to compensation is a serious issue for companies who use similar individuals. I say the stretched because all the article refers to is comments made by AOL lawyers on the much broader white collar exemption regulations which are under consideration by the DOL. That hardly rises to the level of the implied idea of a special request to the "Bush administration to keep outside the reach of U.S. labor laws". A story dating back from 1999 explains the nature of the issue.