Urban Outfitters wants some employees to work for free

Urban Outfitters, the retailer that has earned $100 million in profit so far this fiscal year, is asking employees to work for free.

A Gawker post last night detailed an email in which Urban’s parent company actually asks “salaried employees” to work for free at a fulfillment center. There, they are expected to “pick, pack and ship orders” on a volunteer basis, in the interest of “team building” and “servicing the needs of our customers.” That is a job they all usually get paid for, but in this case maybe not:

Perhaps even weirder than a request for employees to volunteer for a not-at-all charitable cause is that Urban told Gawker it received a “tremendous response” from its email. But it is only allowing those who are are not paid by the hour to participate, because it wanted to “ensure full compliance with all applicable labor laws and regulations.”

I oversee Fusion’s money section and have spent most of my time as a journalist writing about banks and finance. I live in Brooklyn with my partner Geoffrey & our two dogs, Captain & Tallulah. Favs: leopard print, Diet Coke, gummy candy, Ireland.