[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 24, Volume 1]

[Revised as of April 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 24CFR70.3]



[Page 428-429]

 

                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

 

PART 70_USE OF VOLUNTEERS ON PROJECTS SUBJECT TO DAVIS-BACON AND 

HUD-DETERMINED WAGE RATES--Table of Contents

 

Sec.  70.3  Definitions.



    (a) A volunteer, for purposes of this part, is an individual who 

performs service for a public or private entity for civic, charitable, 

or humanitarian reasons, without promise, expectation or receipt of 

compensation for services rendered, on a HUD-assisted or insured project 

which is subject to a requirement to pay prevailing wage rates.

    (1) Individuals shall be considered volunteers only where their 

services are offered freely and without pressure and coercion, direct or 

implied, from an employer.

    (2) An individual shall not be considered a volunteer if the 

individual is otherwise employed at any time in the construction or 

maintenance work for which the individual volunteers.

    (b) Expenses, reasonable benefits, or nominal fees may be provided 

to volunteers without the status of the volunteer being lost but only 

after a determination is made by HUD on a case-by-case basis by 

examining the total amount of payments made (expenses, benefits, fees) 

in the context of the economic realities of the particular situation. 

Subject to this determination:

    (1) A payment for an expense may be received by a volunteer for 

items such



[[Page 429]]



as uniform allowances or reimbursement for reasonable cleaning expenses 

or wear and tear on personal clothing worn while performing the 

volunteer work. Additionally, reimbursement for approximate out-of-

pocket expenses for the cost of meals and transportation expenses may be 

made.

    (2) Reasonable benefits may constitute inclusion of individual 

volunteers in group insurance plans (such as liability, health, life, 

disability, workers' compensation) or pension plan or length of service 

awards.

    (3) A nominal fee is not a substitute for compensation and must not 

be tied to productivity. The decision as to what constitutes ``nominal'' 

must be made on a case-by-case basis and in the context of the economic 

realities of the situation.

    (4) The phrase economic realities means that in determining whether 

the fee described in paragraph (b)(3) of this section may be deemed 

``nominal'', the amount of the fee must be judged in the context of what 

paid workers doing the same work would earn in the particular locality 

involved. For example, a ``payment'' made to a ``homeless'' volunteer in 

an amount which covers basic necessities but nonetheless represents an 

insignificant amount when compared with local cost of living and real 

wages may be determined to be nominal for purposes of qualifying as a 

volunteer, provided the payment is not in fact a substitute for 

compensation and is not tied in any way to productivity.

    (c) Prevailing wage rates, for purposes of this part, means:

    (1) Wage rates required to be paid to laborers and mechanics 

employed in the construction (including rehabilitation) of a project (or 

in the case of public housing, the development of the project), as 

determined by the Secretary of Labor under the Davis-Bacon Act;

    (2) Wage rates required to be paid to laborers and mechanics 

employed in the operation of a public housing project, as determined or 

adopted by the Secretary of HUD; and

    (3) Wage rates required to be paid to architects, technical 

engineers, draftsmen and technicians employed in the development of a 

public housing project, as determined or adopted by the Secretary of 

HUD.