Arts and Crafts and Hours Worked Under the FLSA

Hospitals and Community Rehabilitation Programs occasionally provide rehabilitative services to patients and other consumers that involve the creation of arts and crafts projects. Time spent in arts and crafts projects by a patient or other consumer is not considered hours worked - and therefore not compensable - if the individual's participation is voluntary and the craft products become his or her property, or the funds resulting from the sale of the products are divided among the patients or consumers participating in that program or are used for the purposes of purchasing materials consumed in making the arts and craft products.

Arts and crafts products, by their very nature, involve a degree of creativity and individualism on the part of their creators and are often distinguished by their unique and differentiating characteristics. The mass production of identical or basically identical items, whether produced on an assembly line basis or by individual(s), would not constitute "arts and crafts" activities and the time performing such tasks could actually be compensable hours. In addition, activities such as the potting of seeds or plants or the packaging of materials made by others do not constitute "arts and crafts" activities.

I would like to:

• Continue learning about hours worked principles under FLSA Section 14(c)
• Return to the FLSA Section 14(c) Advisor Main Menu

FLSA Section 14(c) Advisor | Wage and Hour Division