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Many nonprofits depend on volunteers along with paid staff to attain their targets. Few of those organizations, nonetheless, totally grasp the authorized distinctions between these two sorts of staff. At its core, staff are paid and volunteers should not, however a number of components have an effect on the authorized definitions.
Volunteer vs Worker: Who Qualifies?
The Division of Labor makes use of a wide range of components to find out whether or not a employee is an worker or a volunteer. These embody:
- Does the volunteer’s work/companies profit a nonprofit?
- Does the person volunteer fewer hours than a full-time job would demand?
- Is the person volunteering of their very own free will (i.e. no coercion or persuasion)?
- Is the person performing typical volunteer work?
- Is the volunteer changing a daily worker?
- Does the person obtain or count on to obtain some sort of profit from the nonprofit for his or her time?
Whereas no particular person issue is indicative of volunteerism, the Division of Labor (DOL) will normally regard volunteer work as bizarre if nonprofits can reply sure to the primary 4 questions and no to the final two.
Understanding Authorized Volunteer Standing
Reimbursements and Stipends
Many nonprofits need to compensate their volunteers not directly. In any case, volunteers are sometimes important to reaching a nonprofit’s mission. Nonetheless, compensating volunteers may end up in a lack of volunteer standing in addition to the related authorized safety for volunteers. To retain protections, the Volunteer Safety Act requires the person to carry out companies for a nonprofit or authorities group with out receiving compensation.
Nonetheless, nonprofits can reimburse volunteers for his or her bills in addition to present stipends. The rule of thumb is to not exceed $500 in both annual compensation or advantages. Whereas a nonprofit might imagine a $50 per thirty days stipend doesn’t sound like a lot, it will probably take away volunteer standing from their unpaid staff. This implies the volunteer would now not be protected against legal responsibility claims.
Nominal Compensation
Complicating the difficulty is the DOL’s Truthful Labor Requirements Act (FLSA), which describes nominal compensation allowances. The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division considers charges paid to a volunteer nominal as long as it doesn’t surpass 20% of what an equal paid place would command. Purdham v. Fairfax County Faculty Board exemplifies this case. A paid college security and safety assistant additionally volunteered as the college golf coach. The coach acquired a stipend of $2114 per 12 months. The 4th Circuit Court docket of Appeals upheld this stipend as nominal as a result of the person’s volunteer position was separate and totally different from his paid job. As well as, a paid part-time coach place existed, however the person most popular to volunteer his time.
Nonprofits that want to compensate their volunteers in some method ought to take warning. Whereas the DOL permits cheap reimbursement and nominal compensation, it is alarmingly simple to lose volunteer standing and protections. Nonetheless, shedding standing is just not the one danger nonprofits assume relating to their volunteers.
The place the Variations Between Volunteers and Staff Finish
Whereas nonprofits want to know the distinction between staff and volunteers for standing and safety causes, in addition they want to know their similarities. For instance, employment practices legal responsibility is just not distinctive to paid staff. Even when a nonprofit manages to function 100% with volunteers, they want employment practices legal responsibility insurance coverage (EPLI). EPLI protects nonprofits from a wide range of allegations together with:
- Discrimination
- Unfair hiring practices
- Hostile work surroundings
- Sexual harassment
- Wrongful termination
Whereas a number of the above appear to use solely to paid staff (i.e. wrongful termination, hostile work surroundings), that is not the case.
For instance, assume a volunteer sends an inappropriate joke through electronic mail to a different volunteer solely to find they CC’d the complete workers by mistake. If the nonprofit later relieves a distinct volunteer of his or her place, that particular person can sue the nonprofit for permitting a hostile work surroundings because of the crude electronic mail. Whereas this case could appear unlikely, quite a few court docket circumstances of this nature present proof on the contrary.
Wrongful termination lawsuits lodged towards nonprofits by former volunteers crop up with shocking regularity as properly. Many of those come up because of improper documentation. For instance, assume an under-performing volunteer submits a grievance of sexual harassment. The nonprofit does due diligence and investigates the declare however determines no wrongdoing occurred. The nonprofit then goes on to alleviate the volunteer due to his or her poor efficiency. Nonetheless, if the nonprofit didn’t doc the meager efficiency, this case appears to be like very unhealthy on paper. The terminated volunteer can sue for wrongful termination, alleging the nonprofit fired her or him because of the harassment declare.
Most nonprofits imagine they’ve grasp on legal responsibility points: keep away from harassment, discrimination, and different extreme office points. But EPL claims happen at a staggering price, creating a major supply of danger and legal responsibility for any nonprofit group. Seek the advice of an professional to be taught extra.
