Q: My wife is the General Manager of a business that is shorthanded. Can I work for her without pay on a temporary basis?
Hello! My wife’s work is currently understaffed due to COVID. They just recently reopened and she’s hired over a half dozen people, but she is still short for this upcoming July 4th weekend (she works in a largely tourism-based business and so is much busier on holidays). I’d like to help her out by working for her for 1 or 2 days but don’t want her to have to go through the hassle of all the extra paperwork and whatnot to officially hire me, and I don’t care at all about being paid. Is this legal?
A:
Well, no. Private employers are not supposed to have "volunteers" that are unpaid. You won't be covered by Worker's Comp iif you get injured. You are legally entitled to minimum wage. In theory, the company could be in trouble. As a practical matter, if you go there as your wife's assistant or shadow, and no one complains, it can be done, but strictly speaking, it is not legal under the Labor Code. If someone makes a stink, you could get your wife fired.
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Neil Pedersen agrees with this answer
1 user found this answer helpful
A:
The technical answer is no, you cannot work for free or as a volunteer for a private (i.e., non-government) employer. You must be paid at least the minimum wage for all hours that you work at the business. There are no exceptions for spouses. It is unlikely you would sue the company for this violation (smile), but there are conceivable scenarios where your wife and the company could face adverse consequences from the violation, so beware.
Good luck to you.
1 user found this answer helpful
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