[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 24, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 24CFR70.3]

[Page 426]
 
                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
PART 70_USE OF VOLUNTEERS ON PROJECTS SUBJECT TO DAVIS-BACON AND 
HUD-DETERMINED WAGE RATES--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 70.3  Definitions.

    (a) A volunteer, for purposes of this part, is an individual who 
performs service for a public or private entity for civic, charitable, 
or humanitarian reasons, without promise, expectation or receipt of 
compensation for services rendered, on a HUD-assisted or insured project 
which is subject to a requirement to pay prevailing wage rates.
    (1) Individuals shall be considered volunteers only where their 
services are offered freely and without pressure and coercion, direct or 
implied, from an employer.
    (2) An individual shall not be considered a volunteer if the 
individual is otherwise employed at any time in the construction or 
maintenance work for which the individual volunteers.
    (b) Expenses, reasonable benefits, or nominal fees may be provided 
to volunteers without the status of the volunteer being lost but only 
after a determination is made by HUD on a case-by-case basis by 
examining the total amount of payments made (expenses, benefits, fees) 
in the context of the economic realities of the particular situation. 
Subject to this determination:
    (1) A payment for an expense may be received by a volunteer for 
items such as uniform allowances or reimbursement for reasonable 
cleaning expenses or wear and tear on personal clothing worn while 
performing the volunteer work. Additionally, reimbursement for 
approximate out-of-pocket expenses for the cost of meals and 
transportation expenses may be made.
    (2) Reasonable benefits may constitute inclusion of individual 
volunteers in group insurance plans (such as liability, health, life, 
disability, workers' compensation) or pension plan or length of service 
awards.
    (3) A nominal fee is not a substitute for compensation and must not 
be tied to productivity. The decision as to what constitutes ``nominal'' 
must be made on a case-by-case basis and in the context of the economic 
realities of the situation.
    (4) The phrase economic realities means that in determining whether 
the fee described in paragraph (b)(3) of this section may be deemed 
``nominal'', the amount of the fee must be judged in the context of what 
paid workers doing the same work would earn in the particular locality 
involved. For example, a ``payment'' made to a ``homeless'' volunteer in 
an amount which covers basic necessities but nonetheless represents an 
insignificant amount when compared with local cost of living and real 
wages may be determined to be nominal for purposes of qualifying as a 
volunteer, provided the payment is not in fact a substitute for 
compensation and is not tied in any way to productivity.
    (c) Prevailing wage rates, for purposes of this part, means:
    (1) Wage rates required to be paid to laborers and mechanics 
employed in the construction (including rehabilitation) of a project (or 
in the case of public housing, the development of the project), as 
determined by the Secretary of Labor under the Davis-Bacon Act;
    (2) Wage rates required to be paid to laborers and mechanics 
employed in the operation of a public housing project, as determined or 
adopted by the Secretary of HUD; and
    (3) Wage rates required to be paid to architects, technical 
engineers, draftsmen and technicians employed in the development of a 
public housing project, as determined or adopted by the Secretary of 
HUD.