The federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 (the VPA or the Act) aims to promote

volunteerism Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

by limiting, and in many cases completely eliminating, a volunteer's risk of

tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

liability when acting for

nonprofit organizations A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

or government entities. 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.

Introduction

People who volunteer to assist nonprofit organizations or

government agencies A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administratio ...

or programs run the risk that their actions, while well-intentioned, may cause harm to another. If those actions are deemed

negligent Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as a ...

, the volunteer may face

civil liability In law, liable means "responsible or answerable in law; legally obligated". Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law and can arise from various areas of law, such as contracts, torts, taxes, or fines given by government agencie ...

for damages caused by the negligent conduct.''See generally'' ''Prosser and Keeton on Torts'', 5th Edition (West Group 1984) (''Prosser & Keeton''); ''Prosser, Wade, and Schwartz's Torts: Cases and Materials'', 10th Edition (Foundation Press 2000) (''Prosser & Wade''); ''Restatement of the Law, Second, Torts 2d'', Revised Edition (American Law Institute 1965)(''Restatement''); ''Harper, James and Gray on Torts'', Third Edition (Aspen Publishers 1995)(''Harper & James''); ''Exploring Tort Law'', M. Stuart Madden (Cambridge University Press, 2005) {{ISBN, 0-521-85136-X.

References

External links

Volunteer Protection Act
Charity law Volunteering in the United States Acts of the 105th United States Congress Non-profit organizations based in the United States