Court of Appeals Affirms Lower Court’s Ruling That High School Coach Was a Volunteer under FLSA

On March 10, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found that a School Board in Virginia did not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) when it deemed its golf coach a volunteer within the meaning of the FLSA.  Purdham v. Fairfax County Public Schools, 629 F. Supp. 2d 544 (E.D. Va. 2011). 

James Purdham worked for the Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, Virginia as a safety and security assistant and also served as the head golf coach for a high school in the district.  Purdham claimed that his position as golf coach deemed him an “employee” and thus he was entitled to overtime pay under FLSA for his golf coach work.  The court disagreed with Purdham and deemed him a volunteer.

The court articulated numerous reasons why he should be deemed a volunteer under FLSA:  Purdham was motivated in part by civic, charitable or humanitarian reasons, Purdham was not coerced into volunteering in order to retain his security position, the amount of money Purdham made for his services can be considered “nominal” (Purdham earned roughly $2,000 a year for his coaching efforts, an amount the court says is not tied to productivity nor compensatory for services rendered). Congress’ intent in carving out an exception for volunteers under FLSA was to encourage school employees to volunteer as coaches, and Purdham’s access to a grievance procedure regarding his coaching status has no bearing on the voluntariness determination.  For these reasons, Purdham was not considered an employee and not entitled to overtime pay.

While the Seventh Circuit has not yet cited this case with approval nor reached the same conclusion, this case helps shed more light on the FLSA’s implications for non-certified staff who also perform extra-curricular functions.  Purdham serves as a reminder to school districts to review their practices regarding extra-duty pay, particularly in view of the additional clarity to the FLSA’s definition of volunteer.

Read the rest of our Fall 2011 Newsletter HERE.