Q: I run a Church and many people that volunteer for the church also work for a different business that I own.

A: I would recommend that you consult with an employment law attorney. I would be concerned that you are currently breaking laws, although I won't speculate because I don't know the nature of your other business. There are different laws for inside and outside sales. There are also different laws for commission-only agreements.

A: A private (non-government) for-profit employer cannot have volunteer workers, i.e., people that are not paid at least the minimum wage for their services, unless they fit very strict guidelines for being interns, or unless they are owners. Therefore your plan cannot work. In fact, you need to be very careful to draw a very bright line between the employees of the business vs. the volunteers to make sure there is no claim that they are doing work for free for the business under the guise of volunteering for the church.

Good luck to you.

A: What concerns me with respect to your facts is that the workers for your business are paid "per sale and not per hour." which says to me that you are probably not paying minimum wage to them, because they see your business as connected to the church for which they provide volunteer service.

No matter what the method of calculation, every worker is entitled to receive minimum wage. When employees are put on a "commission" basis for retail sales this is commission against a draw- the draw being minimum wage. That way the employee is always paid at least minimum wage. You need to establish a sales commission against draw system right away, and you need to speak with an attorney about what to do to rectify any prior failures to pay minimum wage.

When an employer (YOU) fails to pay minimum wage, they can be liable for the unpaid minimum wage, an equal amount as "liquidated damage" and double interest on the unpaid minimum wage from the date the wage is not paid. In addition there are penalties for failing to provide correct "statements of earnings" (paycheck stubs) of $50 for the first pay period and $100 for each successive pay period that you can be liable for. And this is just for the employees that still work there. If anyone was fired or quit, you could be responsible for up to 30 days of their average daily earnings as a "waiting time penalty."

Wage and hour law is not something to play around with, and you don't get any special treatment because you have also got a relationship with a church.

The information provided herein is an opinion based on the information provided by the question, and no additional inquiry has been made to determine if there are other or additional facts which could significantly change the opinion. You should not rely on the opinion without first privately consulting with an attorney of your own.