42 U.S.C. § 14503: Limitation on liability for…

Summary

Keeps most volunteers from being sued for harms they cause while helping a nonprofit or government, as long as they were doing the volunteer job, were licensed when needed, did not act with willful or criminal wrongdoing, gross negligence, reckless behavior, or a conscious, blatant disregard for someone’s safety, and the harm did not come from driving or operating a vehicle that the State requires a license or insurance for. Volunteer pilots flying for public-benefit missions (like medical transport, disaster relief, or similar charity flights) get the same protection if they are properly licensed and insured, meet FAA recent-flight rules, and did not cause harm by willful or criminal wrongdoing, gross negligence, reckless behavior, or conscious, blatant disregard for safety. Organizations and governments can still sue their own volunteers, and the rule does not change the group’s legal responsibility. States may attach conditions such as required volunteer training, treating the organization like an employer for volunteer acts, allowing suits by state officers, or requiring insurance or other financial security. Punitive damages cannot be awarded against a volunteer unless the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the volunteer’s action was willful or criminal misconduct or showed conscious, flagrant indifference. The protections do not apply to serious misconduct such as convicted violent crimes or terrorism, convicted sexual offenses, hate crimes, proven civil-rights violations, or acts while legally intoxicated.

Title 42, §14503

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Liability protection for volunteers

Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (e), no volunteer of a nonprofit organization or governmental entity shall be liable for harm caused by an act or omission of the volunteer on behalf of the organization or entity if—

(1)the volunteer was acting within the scope of the volunteer’s responsibilities in the nonprofit organization or governmental entity at the time of the act or omission;

(2)if appropriate or required, the volunteer was properly licensed, certified, or authorized by the appropriate authorities for the activities or practice in the State in which the harm occurred, where the activities were or practice was undertaken within the scope of the volunteer’s responsibilities in the nonprofit organization or governmental entity;

(3)the harm was not caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the volunteer; and

(4)the harm was not caused by the volunteer operating a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other vehicle for which the State requires the operator or the owner of the vehicle, craft, or vessel to—

(A)possess an operator’s license; or

(B)maintain insurance.

(b)Liability protection for pilots that fly for public benefit

Except as provided in subsections (c) and (e), no volunteer of a volunteer pilot nonprofit organization that arranges flights for public benefit shall be liable for harm caused by an act or omission of the volunteer on behalf of the organization if, at the time of the act or omission, the volunteer—

(1)was operating an aircraft in furtherance of the purpose of, and acting within the scope of the volunteer’s responsibilities on behalf of, the nonprofit organization to provide patient and medical transport (including medical transport for veterans), disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, or other similar charitable missions;

(2)was properly licensed and insured for the operation of the aircraft;

(3)was in compliance with all requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration for recent flight experience; and

(4)did not cause the harm through willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the volunteer.

(c)Concerning responsibility of volunteers to organizations and entities

Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any civil action brought by any nonprofit organization or any governmental entity against any volunteer of such organization or entity.

(d)No effect on liability of organization or entity

Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the liability of any nonprofit organization or governmental entity with respect to harm caused to any person.

(e)Exceptions to volunteer liability protection

If the laws of a State limit volunteer liability subject to one or more of the following conditions, such conditions shall not be construed as inconsistent with this section: (1)

(2)A State law that makes the organization or entity liable for the acts or omissions of its volunteers to the same extent as an employer is liable for the acts or omissions of its employees.

(3)A State law that makes a limitation of liability inapplicable if the civil action was brought by an officer of a State or local government pursuant to State or local law.

(4)A State law that makes a limitation of liability applicable only if the nonprofit organization or governmental entity provides a financially secure source of recovery for individuals who suffer harm as a result of actions taken by a volunteer on behalf of the organization or entity. A financially secure source of recovery may be an insurance policy within specified limits, comparable coverage from a risk pooling mechanism, equivalent assets, or alternative arrangements that satisfy the State that the organization or entity will be able to pay for losses up to a specified amount. Separate standards for different types of liability exposure may be specified.

(f)Limitation on punitive damages based on actions of volunteers

(1)General rule

Punitive damages may not be awarded against a volunteer in an action brought for harm based on the action of a volunteer acting within the scope of the volunteer’s responsibilities to a nonprofit organization or governmental entity unless the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm was proximately caused by an action of such volunteer which constitutes willful or criminal misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed.

(2)Construction

Paragraph (1) does not create a cause of action for punitive damages and does not preempt or supersede any Federal or State law to the extent that such law would further limit the award of punitive damages.

(g)Exceptions to limitations on liability

(1)In general

The limitations on the liability of a volunteer under this chapter shall not apply to any misconduct that—

(A)constitutes a crime of violence (as that term is defined in section 16 of title 18) or act of international terrorism (as that term is defined in section 2331 of title 18) for which the defendant has been convicted in any court;

(B)constitutes a hate crime (as that term is used in the Hate Crime Statistics Act (28 U.S.C. 534 note));

(C)involves a sexual offense, as defined by applicable State law, for which the defendant has been convicted in any court;

(D)involves misconduct for which the defendant has been found to have violated a Federal or State civil rights law; or

(E)where the defendant was under the influence (as determined pursuant to applicable State law) of intoxicating alcohol or any drug at the time of the misconduct.

(2)Rule of construction

Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to effect subsection (a)(3) or (f).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Hate Crime Statistics Act, referred to in subsec. (g)(1)(B), is Pub. L. 101–275, Apr. 23, 1990, 104 Stat. 140, which was set out as a note under section 534 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, prior to editorial reclassification as section 41305 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law

Enforcement

, and as provisions set out as a note under section 41305 of Title 34.

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–254, § 584(2), in introductory provisions, substituted “subsections (b), (c), and (e)” for “subsections (b) and (d)”. Subsecs. (b) to (g). Pub. L. 115–254, § 584(1), (3), added subsec. (b) and redesignated former subsecs. (b) to (f) as (c) to (g), respectively. Subsec. (g)(2). Pub. L. 115–254, § 584(4), substituted “(f)” for “(e)”.

§14503 Limitation on Liability for Volunteers