Volunteering in Corporate Sponsored Programs, “Am I Liable?”

Are you sending volunteers to build a playground or house? Have tutors exchanging home phone numbers with students and visiting them outside of school? Or participate in Take Your Child to Work day? With each of these circumstances the volunteer or company may be exposing themselves to greater risk of liability.

As a responsible steward of volunteerism, make sure you are protecting your volunteers and company from claims and lawsuits. Senior Litigation Attorney Darrell Davis, Graco Inc., discussed risk management with corporate volunteer programs at the September CVC program. He outlined four protections from liability: statutory, general liability insurance, worker’s compensation, and respondeat superior.

Statutory protection includes:

• Federal and state statues provide limited liability for volunteers of non-profit organizations.
• Applies to third-party claims only.
• Volunteer can still be liable to employees or agents of non-profit organization or to the organization itself which means an employee of the nonprofit or the nonprofit can still sue the volunteer.
• No immunity for breach of fiduciary duty or contract claims.

Most businesses carry general liability insurance which provides coverage for volunteer workers ‘while performing duties related to the conduct of your business.” To decipher “conduct of business” an example is a company sponsors tutoring at an elementary school, the company has decided this tutoring activity is part of their business. This policy, however, usually does not include coverage for bodily injury to a volunteer worker which will probably be covered under worker’s compensation. Several key points Mr. Davis made are to verify your company carries general liability insurance and to understand its policies and limitations.

Worker’s compensation should cover volunteer workers for bodily injury while performing volunteer responsibilities whether on or off company premises.

A final protection for an individual volunteer is respondeat superior which translates to “master will respond.” This is more generally called vicarious liability. The organization as “master” is liable for the actions or inactions of a “servant” which means an employee, agent or volunteer. Basically, each organization needs to grapple with its tolerance for risk.

Graco, a manufacturing company, does not participate in Take Your Child to Work activities because it does not want to expose children to its manufacturing floor which include heavy machinery and hazardous chemicals. Other businesses may not condone employees bringing family to a park clean-up unless a release of liability has been signed by the non-employee and/or guardian of non-employee.

There are requirements for protection under federal and state statues. The Volunteer Protection Act, which only applies to volunteers of non-profits, has five requirements for immunity from liability. However, these requirements are parallel for most general liability policies.

1. Must be a volunteer and not receive compensation except reimbursement for expenses that are less than $500/year
2. Must be acting within the scope of responsibilities (Volunteer job is to paint a home, but inadvertently fix the homeowner’s car and hurt someone –no protection.)
3. Must have proper licensing, if applicable
4. Must not be intentional misconduct or gross negligence
5. Must not be related to operating a motor vehicle (Claim may fall under car insurance policy.)

Exclusions from protection are crimes of violence, hate crimes, sexual offenses, civil rights violations, and claims involving alcohol and drugs.

The following were some questions addressed at CVC’s September program:

Q: Can you have an employee sign a release which states they understand the terms and responsibilities of their volunteer activities (i.e., e-mentoring relationship), and if they do not abide by the rules, they then can be dropped from the volunteer program?
A: Yes, it adds a level of protection to the company. Such a release should be sent by a company officer.

Q: Is a volunteer job description which may outline risks an alternative to a release of liability form?
A: No, the signature of the person is required which means they read and understand the policies.

Q: If volunteer activities are funded and organized by the company’s legally separate non-profit company foundation, is the for-profit company protected?
A: No, the foundation would be seen as acting as an agent of the corporation.

As with any legal matters, there are exceptions to the rules and it is advised to speak with your company’s attorney regarding liability protection for the company and its employees.

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