42 U.S.C. § 14503 — Limitation on liability for volunteers
submitted 29 years ago by Pub. L. 105-19 to r/title-42-THE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-AND-WELFARE · 984 words · no verdicts yet
This law shields volunteers from being sued for harm they cause while acting within their role for a nonprofit or government entity, and gives extra protection to volunteer pilots flying for charity. The shield doesn't apply to willful or reckless misconduct, or to harm from driving without a license or insurance. It doesn't protect volunteers from crimes of violence, hate crimes, sex offenses, civil rights violations, or acting while intoxicated.
(a) Liability protection for volunteers — Except as (b), (c), and (e) provide, a nonprofit or government entity's volunteer* isn't liable for harm* caused by something the volunteer did or didn't do on the organization's behalf, if (1) the volunteer was acting within the scope of their responsibilities at the time; (2) if needed, the volunteer was properly licensed, certified, or authorized for that activity in the state* where the harm happened; (3) the harm wasn't caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or conscious, flagrant indifference to the injured person's rights or safety; and (4) the harm wasn't caused by the volunteer operating a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other vehicle that the state requires the operator or owner* to have a license for, or insurance for.
(b) Liability protection for pilots that fly for public benefit — Except as (c) and (e) provide, a volunteer pilot flying for a nonprofit that arranges public-benefit flights isn't liable for harm from their act or omission if, at the time, they (1) were flying to further the nonprofit's mission of patient or medical transport (including for veterans), disaster relief, humanitarian aid, or similar charitable missions, and were acting within their volunteer role; (2) were properly licensed and insured to fly; (3) met all FAA recent-flight-experience requirements; and (4) didn't cause the harm through willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or conscious, flagrant indifference to the injured person's rights or safety.
(c) Concerning responsibility of volunteers to organizations and entities — Nothing here affects a lawsuit a nonprofit or government entity itself brings against its own volunteer.
(d) No effect on liability of organization or entity — Nothing here changes a nonprofit's or government entity's own liability for harm it causes to anyone.
(e) Exceptions to volunteer liability protection — If a state's own volunteer-liability law has any of these conditions, that doesn't count as conflicting with this section: (1) requiring the organization to follow risk-management procedures, including mandatory volunteer training; (2) making the organization liable for its volunteers' acts the same way an employer is liable for employees; (3) removing the liability limit when a state or local government officer brings the lawsuit under state or local law; or (4) applying the liability limit only if the organization provides a financially secure way to pay people harmed by a volunteer — such as insurance, comparable risk-pool coverage, equivalent assets, or another arrangement the state is satisfied will cover losses up to a set amount; different standards can apply to different kinds of liability risk.
(f) Limitation on punitive damages based on actions of volunteers — (1) General rule: Punitive damages can't be awarded against a volunteer acting within their role for a nonprofit or government entity, unless the claimant proves by clear and convincing evidence that the harm was proximately caused by the volunteer's willful or criminal misconduct, or conscious, flagrant indifference to the injured person's rights or safety. (2) Construction: This doesn't create a new right to sue for punitive damages, and doesn't override any federal or state law that limits punitive damages even further.
(g) Exceptions to limitations on liability — (1) The liability limits in this chapter don't apply to misconduct that (A) is a "crime of violence" (as section 16 of title 18 defines it) or an "act of international terrorism" (as section 2331 of title 18 defines it) for which the defendant was convicted in any court; (B) is a hate crime, as used in the Hate Crime Statistics Act; (C) involves a sex offense under applicable state law, for which the defendant was convicted in any court; (D) involves conduct a court found violated a federal or state civil rights law; or (E) happened while the defendant was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as determined under applicable state law. (2) Rule of construction: Nothing here changes (a)(3) or (f).
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—
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;
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;
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
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—
possess an operator’s license; or
maintain insurance.
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—
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;
was properly licensed and insured for the operation of the aircraft;
was in compliance with all requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration for recent flight experience; and
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.
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.
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.
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:
A State law that requires a nonprofit organization or governmental entity to adhere to risk management procedures, including mandatory training of volunteers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The limitations on the liability of a volunteer under this chapter shall not apply to any misconduct that—
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;
constitutes a hate crime (as that term is used in the Hate Crime Statistics Act (28 U.S.C. 534 note)); 1
involves a sexual offense, as defined by applicable State law, for which the defendant has been convicted in any court;
involves misconduct for which the defendant has been found to have violated a Federal or State civil rights law; or
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.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to effect subsection (a)(3) or (f).
Source credit: (Pub. L. 105–19, § 4, June 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 219; Pub. L. 115–254, div. B, title V, § 584, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3399.)
- 1997Enacted · Pub. L. 105-19 · 111 Stat. 219
- 2018Amended · Pub. L. 115-254 · 132 Stat. 3399
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 105-19 on 1997-06-18.
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