Lending a Hand: Offering Public Employees Paid Time Off to Volunteer

Many people find fulfillment in volunteering but struggle to balance it with work and personal responsibilities like family time and errands. As detailed by the Mayo Clinic, volunteering can benefit a person’s life by improving physical and mental health, providing a sense of purpose, and increasing positive social interaction.

Local governments have an opportunity to support employee volunteerism by adopting a carefully crafted policy offering paid time off for employee participation in designated volunteer programs and events. This blog will look at the considerations local governments should take into account before setting up such a program.

Would a Paid Day Off for Volunteering Be Considered a Gift of Public Funds?

When employees are given compensation for something out of the ordinary, like a paid day off to participate in a volunteer event, the prohibition on the gift of public funds must be considered. Under this prohibition, a local government cannot bestow a gift or lend money, property, or the entity’s credit to a private party, except for the necessary support of the poor and infirm.

In determining whether an unlawful gift has been made, courts look to:

1. whether the funds are being expended to carry out a fundamental purpose of the government; or
2. whether there is “donative intent” and adequate consideration for the transfer.

An employee’s compensation package is not considered a gift of public funds, as the local government is, of course, receiving something in return: the employee’s labor. As part of that compensation package, local governments can provide their employees with perks such as wellness incentives, employee recognition programs, longevity awards, and, yes, paid time off to volunteer. Perks like these can be a win-win for the employee and the local government; they can improve an employee’s physical and mental health and provide a sense of personal worth and community belonging — all of which can make a happier local government employee.

What about the potential “gift” to the receiving entity of the volunteer time? One way to address this is to allow the employee to volunteer only at those entities that support the poor or infirm.

Another option is for the agency to focus its paid volunteer time off on nonprofits that operate in the local community or greater region, which would serve the municipal purpose of investment in the community or region in which the agency operates.

How Should the Leave be Structured?

In terms of how to structure the leave, one option is to allow employees to use accrued sick leave for volunteering. Both King County and Kitsap County use this approach.

King County allows employees to use up to three days of sick leave each calendar year to perform volunteer services at a local school or at a nonprofit organization as long as it appears on the approved list for the employee giving program. See King County Code, Title 3, Sec. 3.12.225 and Employee Giving Program: Sick Leave for Volunteer Service – Frequently Asked Questions.

Kitsap County has a slightly narrower policy, allowing employees to use two days of accumulated sick leave to volunteer in either their child’s (or grandchild’s) school or in a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides services to Kitsap County residents. See Kitsap County’s Personnel Policies - Employee Volunteer Activities.

Another option is to identify this leave specifically as a community service day or as volunteer time off. Examples of this approach include:

• The City of Maple Valley, Washington, which provides one paid ‘community service day’ to its employees per year. See Maple Valley’s Personnel Policy, Sec. 8.13. Holidays.
• The Town of Mooresville, North Carolina, which provides up to 16 hours of volunteer time off to volunteer at schools, nonprofits, and charities within the state. See the town’s Volunteer Time Off Policy.
• The City of Aurora, Colorado, which provides up to eight paid volunteer hours each year. See Aurora’s Benefits & Retirement.
• Fairfax County, Virginia, which provides up to 16 hours of volunteer leave to participate in volunteer activities and initiatives that support neighborhoods in which the employees live and work. See the county’s Personnel Regulations, Sec. 10.31

Policy Development

Regardless of what the leave is called, local governments that choose to give employees paid time off to participate in volunteer activities must adopt clear policies outlining program parameters.

When creating a paid volunteer leave program, the government employer can adopt restrictions on the types of nonprofits for which the employee can volunteer their services if it does so in a neutral way that doesn’t run afoul of the First Amendment. First Amendment analysis is involved, and agency legal counsel will need to ensure the policy language is consistent with First Amendment principles.

Kitsap County has developed a neutral policy by allowing volunteering at nonprofits that provide "services to Kitsap County residents,” without favoring any specific type of nonprofit. Using these types of content- and viewpoint-neutral terms to describe eligible volunteer activities can help avoid claims of content- or viewpoint- discrimination under the First Amendment.

Prohibit employees from using time to engage in political campaigning or lobbying

Another policy consideration is to prohibit volunteering for political activities or campaigning. Under RCW 42.17A.555, local government employees cannot use public facilities to support or oppose campaigns or ballot measures. The law includes the “use of employees of the office or agency during working hours” in its definition of “public facilities.” Therefore, providing employees with a paid day off from work to volunteer for a political campaign or to support a ballot measure would be contrary to RCW 42.17A.555.

An example of this is King County’s policy, which specifically restricts employees from political activities and campaigning. See the county’s Sick Leave for Volunteer Service – Frequently Asked Questions.

Make the program optional

Finally, some employees may not have the capacity, desire, or ability to volunteer. Therefore, the policy should be clear that volunteer time off is an optional employee benefit and employees are not required to participate.

These issues and others are explored in Living Longer: Part of Your Total Compensation Package from the National Association of Counties’ (NACO) website.

Conclusion

Local governments can offer their employees paid volunteer leave after adopting carefully drafted policies vetted by legal counsel that identify how to properly use that paid time. While employee utilization of these policies is optional, they may nonetheless foster a sense of goodwill toward the employer and provide personal value to the employee, as well as provide support to community organizations.