Occupational Safety and Health Administration Logs

Who an organization who only has volunteers in it's labor pool still have to follow OSHA regulations?

I'm working on a college project and my adviser wants me to explain why my plan follows OSHA regulations when I'm only dealing with volunteers. I can only come up with ethical arguments, but I need something more study tu support my argument with. Is there something that says volunteers are covered by OSHA too?

Public Comments

1. Volunteers aren't slaves. If you don't follow regulations and a volunteer is injured, you are completely liable.
2. There are two psrts to this. The first is the definition of "volunteers". If there is any compensation at all , they are not volunteers. Also, if there are paid employees also, then they are covered and anyone working with them would have to follow the same rules, even if volunteers. The second part is insurance. Even volunteer organizations usually have insurance. As part of being insured, the language will include things dealing with dangerous conditions and reasonable safety. Although, OSHA may not be specified, that is the point of the language. The kinds of groups that get away from OSHA are church volunteers and environmental groups doing things like highway cleanups, etc. You just have to be very careful.