We have been told that the volunteers sometimes are asked to sign a “hold-harmless” agreement with the “employing” organization.

The nonprofit organization wishes to know what would happen if one of the volunteers were seriously injured because of the activity. Also, what if one of the volunteers seriously injures a member of the public while working? Where would they find coverage?

Ohio Subscriber

A

There are no easy answers to your questions, and this situation does not appear to have been tested in court. We can see several areas of concern that need to be addressed.

The easy area is that the employing organization can add endorsement CG 20 26 additional insured — designated person or organization to their CGL form. However, the organization or the insurer may balk at this, since each organization performing work would need to be added. This would presumably give the workers insured status while in the course of the “employment.” (We assume the nonprofit organization carries liability insurance which would respond if the organization was sued because of a member's activity on its behalf.)

Although it has been suggested that the volunteer's homeowners policy would respond if the volunteer injured someone, the insurer could argue that the volunteer was receiving payment, even though the money was going to the nonprofit organization. The volunteer is acting as an employee for the commercial organization, not directly volunteering for the nonprofit organization. We think since the nonprofit organization is one step removed in the process, the activity may lose its cohesiveness as a voluntary activity.

If one of the volunteers were seriously injured arising out of the work, we think several workers comp issues would be raised. Was the worker actually a volunteer, or was he an employee or an independent contractor? Who actually directed the volunteer's actions? Was any specific, as opposed to general, training required? Who provided the training?

As we said, there are no easy answers.

Editor's note: We invite comments from anyone having experience with a similar situation.