Volunteering

Hunter1

State and local government 'experts': Could one of my exempt department heads resign his position and come back and do the same work on a volunteer basis?

deniseE

I'm not sure how. He wouldn't be covered (nor would you) if he was hurt on the job, or if he did his job in a negligent way and brought harm (of one kind or another) to employees or clients...

You might be able to bring him on as an independent contractor. There's an on-going post on this right now. The IRS laws make it a challenge, but if you can make it work, this might be your ticket.

Good Luck.

Hunter1

deniseE: Thanks for your input. We do provide loss of time and medical coverage for our volunteers, and there is no question that our liability insurance would respond to losses caused by volunteers. My questions goes more to the FLSA implications. A (generally non-exempt) employee cannot volunteer to do work in a similar position for the same employer in the public sector, but once the employment relationship is severed, I don't see why the person couldn't come back in the same position as a volunteer.

marc

We are not a government entity, but we have ex-EE's volunteering frequently to help with fundraisers and such. There is no FSLA issue, but we have them sign an acknowledgement that they are volunteering and that there is no pay or stipends associated with the volunteer work. Further, we are working on a waiver that covers workman's comp issues.

Shadowfax

Sure he could, and you could even pay a small stipend and some minimal expenses. I like someones's idea of an acknowledgemtn of volunteer but t here is no reason a muni cannot use volunteers for just about anything. Once he's disengaged as an employee, he's fair game.