STAFF FAQs
Have questions on Extension volunteer processes or systems? Find the most asked questions in this FAQ. Don't see what you are looking for? Please contact Jessica Montgomery for assistance.
Documentation
Per University of Arizona policy, volunteer records must be kept in paper or digital form for 8 years.
Per UA's Risk Management Team:
Departments using volunteers must keep on file sufficient information to document each volunteer's status and authorized duties. Failure to properly document a volunteer's duties and authorization will jeopardize the liability coverage described above. Risk Management Services recommends that this be accomplished with a Volunteer's Letter of Appointment for each volunteer.
A Volunteer's Letter of Appointment should contain the following information:
- Volunteer's full legal name.
- Program title and brief description where the volunteer will be serving.
- Name and title of the person or persons responsible for volunteer supervision.
- Anticipated duration of volunteer service.
- A description of the services the volunteer is authorized to perform, and an acknowledgement that the services rendered will not be compensated.
- Instructions for immediately reporting accidents or other incidents.
A template example can also be found below.
Training
You can find a helpful training identification matrix by accessing the resource below:
Yes! Please contact Jessica Montgomery for more information.
Stewardship
Unfortunately, no. FLSA prohibits monetary compensation including gift cards. Volunteers are allowed to receive non-monetary items, but this practice should be done with prudence.
Per Public Law 105-19: VOLUNTEER.—The term ‘‘volunteer’’ means an individual performing services for a nonprofit organization or a governmental entity who does not receive— (A) compensation (other than reasonable reimbursement or allowance for expenses actually incurred); or (B) any other thing of value in lieu of compensation, in excess of $500 per year, and such term includes a volunteer serving as a director, officer, trustee, or direct service volunteer.
Submit any and all incidents anonymously by clicking the button below. Optional return correspondence if desired.
All DCC's automatically receive a license for email/Catmail and Google apps.
Other licenses may be granted to DCC volunteers on a case-by-case basis, including Adobe, Office 365, and more.
Please see the list of available software and contacts below.
For Certified Volunteers that go through the DCC process, it usually takes less than a week from start to finish for approvals in UAccess. Certified Volunteers usually must also go through various mandatory trainings to work in program areas such as 4-H and Master Gardeners.
Non-Certified volunteers (events volunteers, occasional volunteers) are not required to be processed in UAccess, and only need to sign a Volunteer Letter of Appointment and work with local staff to complete any pre-volunteering activities.
Recruitment
Please contact your local Business Office representative.
Volunteers are always unpaid and not compensated for the services they provide.
Alternative workers, including AmeriCorps and Student Workers are usually compensated monetarily but with contingencies within their scopes of work.
For more information, see the Volunteers at ACE Informational:
See the Informational
Eligibility
Background checks are always required in roles that have been marked as “Safety or Security Sensitive” and/or “Works With Youth Unsupervised.” Typically, these are 4-H Club volunteers.
No convicted felon may hold a volunteer role that works with youth. For other volunteer roles, evidence of criminal convictions or other adverse information will not automatically disqualify a finalist from consideration. When program staff evaluates whether to allow an individual with a criminal history to volunteer, considerations include relevance of a criminal conviction to the job duties to be performed, the nature and seriousness of the offense, the potential volunteer's work history since the conviction, the date of the most recent offense, and the truthfulness of the information provided by the finalist.
At this time, due to FLSA and IRS regulations, paid employees/student workers/and affiliates may not be a DCC volunteer simultaneously.
However, a student that does not work for the UA may indeed volunteer and can work with local program representatives to get started.
Fair Labor Standards Act
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act, published by the Department of Labor, makes it difficult for employees to volunteer their time to an employer. FLSA regulations state that employees cannot volunteer services to for-profit, private employers. Public and nonprofit employees may volunteer their services, but the services they volunteer must not be part of their regular job duties, and often cannot be performed during their regular working hours.
Yes! Students can be DCC volunteers. However, if they are student employees (student workers), then they may not also hold DCC status, the same as other employees.
Regarding student worker eligibility, the driving factor behind non-eligibility is because student workers are non-exempt/hourly employees under the FLSA and as to not risk potential violations of law, the UA cannot support paying them for some of their services but having them unpaid (volunteer) for other services they perform for the University.
Yes! Certain family members are eligible to volunteer in 4H clubs.
Section 2.2 of 4H Publication 1820-2020 outlines specific eligibility.
Per ARS 15-1649, "Safety-sensitive position" means any job designated by an employer as a safety-sensitive position or any job that includes tasks or duties that the employer in good faith believes could affect the safety or health of the employee performing the task or others, including any of the following:
(a) Operating a motor vehicle, other vehicle, equipment, machinery or power tools.
(b) Repairing, maintaining or monitoring the performance or operation of any equipment, machinery or manufacturing process, the malfunction or disruption of which could result in injury or property damage.
(c) Performing duties in the residential or commercial premises of a customer, supplier or vendor.
(d) Preparing or handling food or medicine.
(e) Working in any occupation regulated pursuant to title 32.