Subchapter VIII. Governmental Volunteers.

§ 1–319.01. Utilization by District government encouraged; exception.

It shall be the policy of the District of Columbia government to utilize volunteer citizens in as many governmental programs as is practicable to serve the interests of the community. No volunteer person shall be used to fill any position or perform any service which is currently being performed by an employee of the District of Columbia government.

§ 1–319.02. Promulgation of regulations.

The Mayor is directed to promulgate regulations governing the use of volunteers by agencies, departments, commissions, and instrumentalities of the District of Columbia: Provided, that the District of Columbia Board of Education and the Council of the District of Columbia may promulgate regulations governing their respective use of volunteers.

§ 1–319.03. Conflicts of interest; ineligibility for employee benefits; liability of District for torts of volunteers.

(a) Volunteer citizens may not assist governmental programs until regulations have been properly promulgated under the authority of §§ 1-319.01 to 1-319.05. No volunteer may be placed in any position likely to constitute a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest in violation of the provisions of Chapter 29 of Title 18, United States Code, or Parts C and D of subchapter II of Chapter 11A of this title.

(b) Persons engaged as volunteers by the District of Columbia government as authorized by this section shall not be eligible for benefits provided to employees of the District of Columbia government under Chapters 81, 83, 85, 87, and 89 of Title 5, United States Code.

(c) All volunteers shall be considered employees of the District of Columbia government for the purposes of §§ 2-411 to 2-416.

(d) The District of Columbia shall be liable to third parties for tortious injury caused by volunteers under its supervision and control.

(June 28, 1977, D.C. Law 2-12, § 4, 24 DCR 1442; Apr. 27, 2012, D.C. Law 19-124, § 501(i), 59 DCR 1862.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 1-306.

1973 Ed., § 1-215c.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 19-124, in subsec. (a), substituted “parts C and D of subchapter II of Chapter 11A of this title” for “part F of subchapter I of Chapter 11 of this title”.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 401(i) of Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Establishment and Comprehensive Ethics Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-298, January 29, 2012, 59 DCR 683).

Editor's Notes

In addition to the references to Title 5 of the United States Code found in (b), there is now a Chapter 84, Retirement.

§ 1–319.04. Inapplicability to offices of United States Marshal or United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.

No provision of §§ 1-319.01 to 1-319.05 shall be deemed to apply to volunteers in the Offices of the United States Marshal or the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.

§ 1–319.05. Definitions.

For the purposes of this subchapter:

(1) The term “employee” means a person who is paid by the District of Columbia government from grant or appropriated funds for his or her services.

(2) The term “volunteer” means a person who donates his or her services to a specific program or department of the District of Columbia government, by his or her free choice and without payment for the services rendered. The reimbursement of the actual expenditures by a volunteer on behalf of the District of Columbia government shall not make that person an employee of the District of Columbia for the purposes of this section.

(3) The term “agencies, departments, commissions, and instrumentalities of the District of Columbia” means all governmental instrumentalities and bodies of the District of Columbia government, except the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.