A volunteer at the 2009 Richmond, Virginia Folk Festival helping keep the public safe at a crosswalk while being safely identified with high visibility vest. (Photo: Jan Thomas)

I attended the recent folk festival in Richmond.  Good time, great music, world cuisine and wonderful photo opportunities.  The large crowds were being assisted by people identified by their “Volunteer” t-shirts. Of course, I noticed the “behind the scenes” details and started thinking once again about the safety of this special group of “workers.”  It’s a topic I’ve been aware of for a long time.

In the early 80’s, when I was the VOSH Administrator, I had to sort through the jurisdictional issues involving the fatality of a volunteer.   On a more personal level, in 1985, I joined my local volunteer rescue squad where my EMT training emphasized the safety and health of the emergency responder. 

I can tell you from these early experiences and years of following this issue that volunteers are normally exempt from OSHA regulations due to a lack of employer/employee relationship.  The one clear exception to this rule was created by the U.S. Congress in 1989 through EPA and directed at fire departments (career, volunteer or combination services).  That focus remains on hazardous materials emergency response.

But what about unpaid student interns, hospital, hospice or disaster volunteers, animal shelter or food bank unpaid assistants, fund raiser and community activity helpers?  Who protects or watches out for the safety of these populations in the U.S.? 

Sad to say, promotion of safety for U.S. volunteers is only happening at the individual organizational level.  There are few incentives other than tort liability, some insurance industry awareness, and the professionalism of volunteer-rich organizations such as the American Red Cross or my local music festival organizers.

This is not necessarily the case in other developed nations.  For example, in the UK, the Health and Safety Executive mandates that employers and the self-employed protect their employees and their volunteers.  An independent organization – Volunteer England – provides a “good practice” bank of safety suggestions to assist.  Hmm…. a national, cooperative model to consider when next we smile at a volunteer.