Except as otherwise provided in this section, a volunteer shall not be deemed a Federal employee and shall not be subject to the provisions of law relating to Federal employment, including those relating to hours of work, rates of compensation, leave, unemployment compensation, and Federal employee benefits.
For the purpose of the tort claim provisions of title 28, a volunteer under sections 558a to 558d of this title shall be considered a Federal employee.
For the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, relating to compensation to Federal employees for work injuries, volunteers under sections 558a to 558d of this title shall be deemed civil employees of the United States within the meaning of the term “employee” as defined in section 8101 of title 5, and the provisions of that subchapter shall apply.
For the purposes of claims relating to damage to, or loss of, personal property of a volunteer incident to volunteer service, a volunteer under sections 558a to 558d of this title shall be considered a Federal employee, and the provisions of section 3721 of title 31 shall apply.
(Pub. L. 92–300, §3, May 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 147; Pub. L. 101–286, title II, §204(a), May 9, 1990, 104 Stat. 175.)
Tort claim provisions of title 28, referred to in subsec. (b), are the provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act, which is classified generally to section 1346(b) and chapter 171 (§2671 et seq.) of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
1990—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 101–286 added subsec. (d).
This section is referred to in sections 558d, 583j–4, 1246, 1250, 1282 of this title.