Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-110

§4604 Volunteers

Title 16 › CHAPTER 66 — TAKE PRIDE IN AMERICA PROGRAM › § 4604

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary can recruit, train, and accept unpaid volunteers to help with the TPIA Program. The Secretary may do this without following some hiring and pay rules in title 5 (including chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5). The Secretary can also pay small out-of-pocket costs for volunteers, like travel, uniforms, lodging, or meals. Volunteers are usually not federal employees and are not covered by laws about work hours, pay, leave, unemployment, or federal employee benefits. Two exceptions apply: for claims under chapter 171 of title 28 (section 2671) and for work-injury compensation under subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5 (section 8101), volunteers are treated as government employees.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §4604

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Authority to use volunteers

The Secretary is authorized to recruit, train, and accept the services of individuals or entities, without compensation, as volunteers for or in aid of the purposes of the TPIA Program, without regard to the provisions of title 5, that govern appointments in the competitive service, and the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, that relate to classification and General Schedule pay rates.

(b)Incidental expenses

The Secretary is authorized to provide for the incidental expenses of such volunteers, such as transportation, uniforms, lodging, or subsistence.

(c)Volunteers’ status as Federal employees

(1)Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a volunteer shall not be deemed a Federal employee and shall not be subject to the provisions of law relating to Federal employment, including those provisions relating to hours of work, rates of compensation, leave, unemployment compensation, and Federal employee benefits.

(2)For purposes of chapter 171 of title 28 (commonly referred to as the “Federal Tort Claims Act”), a volunteer under this subsection shall be considered an employee of the government (as defined in section 2671 of such title).

(3)For purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, relating to compensation to Federal employees for work injuries, a volunteer under this subsection shall be considered an employee (as defined in section 8101 of title 5).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 4604

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110