40 U.S.C. § 3162: Waiver for individuals who perform volunteer services

for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons; only for the personal purpose or pleasure of the individual; without promise, expectation, or receipt of compensation for services rendered, except as provided in subsection (b); and freely and without pressure or coercion, direct or implied, from any employer; whose contribution of service is not for the direct or indirect benefit of any contractor otherwise performing or seeking to perform work on the same project for which the individual is volunteering; who is not employed by and does not provide services to a contractor or subcontractor at any time on the federally assisted or insured project for which the individual is volunteering; and who otherwise is not employed by the same public agency or recipient of federal assistance to perform the same type of services as those for which the individual proposes to volunteer. Volunteers described in subsection (a) who are performing services directly to a state or local government or public agency may receive payments of expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee only in accordance with regulations the Secretary of Labor prescribes. Volunteers who are performing services directly to a public or private nonprofit entity may not receive those payments. a payment for an expense may be received by a volunteer for items such as uniform allowances, protective gear and clothing, reimbursement for approximate out-of-pocket expenses, or the cost or expense of meals and transportation; a reasonable benefit may include the inclusion of a volunteer in a group insurance plan (such as a liability, health, life, disability, or worker’s compensation plan) or pension plan, or the awarding of a length of service award; and a nominal fee may not be used as a substitute for compensation and may not be connected to productivity. The Secretary shall decide what constitutes a nominal fee for purposes of paragraph (2)(C). The decision shall be based on the context of the economic realities of the situation involved. In determining whether an expense, benefit, or fee described in subsection (b) may be paid to volunteers in the context of the economic realities of the particular situation, the Secretary may not permit any expense, benefit, or fee that has the effect of undermining labor standards by creating downward pressure on prevailing wages in the local construction industry.