Volunteer Policy

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
KRIEGER SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES
WHITING SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Purpose

The Johns Hopkins University Schools of Arts & Sciences and Engineering ("Schools") recognizes and appreciates the contributions of volunteers to its mission of education and research. This policy enables the Schools to retain and sets forth requirements pertaining to volunteers. This policy does not govern individuals who volunteer to participate in a research study that is under the oversight of an institutional review board.

Who are Volunteers

Volunteers are individuals who perform services for their own benefit, in furtherance of the humanitarian, educational or service missions of the School and/or to gain professional experience through their service to the School. Volunteers are uncompensated and provide services without expectation of pay. NOTE: Volunteers normally have no affiliation with the Johns Hopkins University. However, under special circumstances, certain Johns Hopkins employees may serve as volunteers when their paid work is substantively different from his/her work as a volunteer.
To ensure that an individual performing volunteer services is not an employee for purpose of the Fair Labor Standards Act, all of the following criteria must be satisfied in order for an individual to be approved as a volunteer:

• The services are intended to be voluntary and to be rendered without compensation.
• The services must constitute a bona fide effort of the individual to volunteer for a humanitarian or public service purpose or for the benefit of his/her professional experience.
• The fact that the individual is an employee elsewhere in the University does not mean he/she cannot volunteer in a capacity that differs from his/her employment.
• However, where an employment relationship does exist, that relationship may not be waived; so, for example, an employee cannot volunteer to do activities that are the same or similar to ones he/she performs in his/her JHU job.
• Individuals volunteer their time for their own personal motives, without promise or expectation of compensation, at hours that suit their own convenience.
• Volunteers must not be utilized in ways that displace or replace regular employees in the performance of their normal duties.

Who May Volunteer

Anyone, including retirees, students, alumni, or others may provide volunteer services to the Schools, with the following restrictions:
A non-University student, who is under age 18, or over age 18 and still enrolled in high school, may only become a University volunteer for service as part of an approved school program pursuant to an agreement between the University and the school, and only with parental consent. Individuals under the age of fifteen may not become University volunteers.
A current employee may not become a University volunteer at the University in any capacity in which he or she is employed at the University, or which is essentially similar to or related to the individual's regular work at the University.
It is important to determine that a person is performing services of a volunteer and will not be considered an employee under the Fair Labor Standard Act. A determination by the Department of Labor that a person's service was that of an employee's will result in the time of service being compensable.

Volunteer Experiences

Individuals who wish to volunteer for purpose of educational or professional interest or as part of a formal or informal educational program must meet the following criteria:

• The experience is for the benefit of the volunteer.
• The volunteers do not displace regular employees, but work under their close observation.
• The department that provides the experience does so primarily for the benefit of the volunteer, and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded.
• The volunteers are not entitled to a job at the conclusion of the experience.
• The institution and the volunteers understand that the volunteers are not entitled to wages for the time spent in volunteer experience.

Duration of Volunteer Experience

The relationship may not extend beyond six months without being renewed.

Requirements and Responsibilities Pertaining to Volunteers

University volunteers are subject to and must abide by all applicable University, School and departmental policies, procedures and rules including but not limited to those relating to health and safety, confidentiality, protected health information, non-discrimination, computer use, ethics, conflict of interest, criminal background check, financial responsibility, drug use and anti-violence.
Foreign nationals must have the appropriate visa and authorization to engage in volunteer activities, as certified by the Johns Hopkins Office of International Students and Scholars Services.

Prohibited Activities for Volunteers Students

University volunteers cannot replace employee positions or impair the employment of a University position. Volunteers' services are generally limited to humanitarian, charitable or public services.
University volunteers are also prohibited from performing the following activities:

• Operating heavy equipment including vehicles
• Working with stored energy (e.g. steam, electricity, hydraulics)
• Activity considered inappropriate for any employee
• Entering into any contract on behalf of the University
• Working with infectious or potentially infectious agents, including human blood

Procedure for Placing a Volunteer

When selecting and engaging a volunteer, it is the department’s responsibility to be certain the individual has adequate experience, qualifications, and training for the task he or she will be required to perform. The following procedures are required to engage a volunteer.

A. School of Medicine Registrar's Office
(Broadway Research Building, Room 147; 410-955-3080)
All Homewood undergraduate students subject to a training agreement between their school and JHUSOM and JHU degree candidates must be processed through the SOM Registrar's Office. These individuals are required to comply with the procedures outlined by that Office, including but not limited to, any credentialing, TB-testing, clearance by Occupational Health, and HIPAA training.

B. Homewood Schools
Anyone requesting to serve as a volunteer on the Homewood campus for either the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences or the Whiting School of Engineering must be processed through the host department and the respective Dean’s Office.

• For Krieger School of Arts & Sciences appointments, the completed application is collected by the department and then forwarded to Lisa Jia in the KSAS Dean’s Office, who will generate the final appointment letter (lisajia@jhu.edu; (410) 516-8215; Mergenthaler 237)
• For Whiting School of Engineering appointments, the completed application is collected by the department, which then generates its own appointment letter. (Please use the Sample Appointment Letter.) A copy of the complete file (including the application and the appointment letter) should be forwarded to Joy Mettee in the WSE Dean’s Office (jmettee@jhu.edu; (410) 516-3983; NEB 120).

For all Homewood volunteer applicants, the following rules apply:

• Each potential volunteer (or their parent) must sign the Risk and Waiver of Liability Form and the volunteer application.
• If the volunteer is seeking to serve in connection with a high school internship program, he/she is responsible for having his/her school send two letters of recommendation.
• Acceptance of a volunteer is subject to a satisfactory reference check. For volunteers aged 18 or over, a criminal background check must be satisfactorily completed prior to their beginning service.
• If the individual is returning and the break in assignment is six months or more, all forms and processes set forth above must be completed again. A current volunteer whose duties materially change or who wishes to commence a new volunteer assignment must complete all forms and processes set forth above.
• The supervisor, department and/or center are responsible for retaining all forms and documents for a period of five years from the date the volunteer ends his/her assignment.
• Volunteers must satisfactorily complete all applicable training and orientation prior to commencing activities at the School. Depending on the nature of the service, training may include, but not be limited to, HIPAA requirements, health and safety, lab protocols, animal lab requirements, etc. Please contact HSE at (410) 516-8798 to determine whether formal training is required. Please see the Johns Hopkins Safety Manual's Statement on Access to Restricted Areas.

To generate an appointment letter from a Homewood school, the following documents must be received:

• completed application
• signed risk and waiver of liability form
• letters of recommendation (for high school interns)
• results of background check (for volunteers 18 or over)
• documentation that training has been completed (or is unnecessary)

Dismissal

Positions approved under this policy may be terminated at any time without cause or prior notice.