Volunteer Workers

Published: April 29th, 1998

Category: Memos

Robert Willits, Interim Director University Personnel Services

Do non-academic volunteers assist your department? If so, your attention to the following is appreciated:

  • Require departmental supervisors to obtain your approval before allowing any volunteers to assist your unit.
  • Have each volunteer provide to the appropriate departmental supervisor any personal and professional information relevant to the services he or she will provide. Supervisors should be faculty or staff members who have responsibility for the program for which the volunteer is being selected.
  • Be sure that the individual will not receive monetary or material compensation from any source for his or her volunteer service.
  • Complete the Record of Volunteer Service form attached, including the required signatures, and provide a copy of it to the volunteer. The original form should be placed in a confidential file and maintained by the department for whom the volunteer will perform services.
  • Advise the volunteer that should he/she be injured while performing the designated volunteer work, they will be covered by either the university’s workers’ compensation program or state liability insurance as appropriate.
  • Provide each volunteer with a copy of the attached Reporting A Workplace Injury document provided by the Workers’ Compensation Office. All volunteers injured while performing the designated volunteer work must follow the steps listed on that document.
  • If a volunteer is injured while performing the designated volunteer work, the Workers’ Compensation Office may require a copy of the Record of Volunteer Service form. Please be prepared to forward a copy of the form to that office.
  • Additional copies of the forms may be obtained from any of the four Employee Relations offices, the Worker’ Compensation Office in 432 Stadium or downloaded from the University Personnel Services web site.
Remember: 
A volunteer is any person who, of his or her own free will, provides services to the university with no monetary or material compensation, on a continuous, occasional, or one-time basis. 
Volunteer status should not be used for any individual awaiting Immigration and Naturalization Service response to a request to change a visa status, or an extension of an expired visa. 
Department/operational unit should maintain auditable records of the number, location, and duties of volunteers, along with the total number of annual hours of volunteer service provided to the department. Generally, this information should be maintained by your unit unless determined otherwise by the appropriate dean or director. 
Volunteer services may cease at any time at the request of the volunteer or at the discretion of the university. A notice stating the effective date of the termination must be provided to the volunteer. This is accomplished by providing the volunteer with a copy of the signed Record of Volunteer Service form.

Please contact Henry Zunker, Manager of Workers’ Compensation, at 392-4940 or Suncom 622-4940 should you have questions about this information.

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