Ex-Volunteers Sue AOL

Two former volunteers for America Online Inc. who helped advise the company’s millions of customers filed a lawsuit alleging that AOL violated labor laws by failing to pay them minimum wage. Kelly Hallissey and Brian A. Williams filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York and are seeking to obtain class-action status. The lawsuit alleges that the volunteers were entitled to hourly wages and overtime wages to be determined as the case proceeds. Hallissey and Williams were among the thousands of volunteers who lead chat rooms, report violations of Internet rules and answer questions from puzzled users. Ann Brackbill, a spokeswoman for the Dulles, Va.-based company, said the company had not seen the complaint and therefore could not comment. “But the company believes that its actions comply with the law, that the community leader program reflects industry practices and that the community leaders are volunteers and not employees.”