NY Red Cross Volunteer May Not Recover for Injuries During Charitable “Work”

A New York appellate court recently affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that had denied workers’ compensation benefits to a Volunteer Community Ambassador for the Red Cross in connection with injuries she sustained when she was hit in the nose by a hand cart while she loaded materials into her car [Matter of Mauro v. American Red Cross, 2019 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7128 (3d Dept. Oct. 3, 2019)]. Acknowledging that the charity exerted some control over the claimant’s volunteer activities, the Court stressed that there was no employment relationship between the volunteer and the charity.

Employee-Employer Relationship is Question of Fact

The Court stressed that the existence of an employment relationship was one of fact for the Board to determine. In making its determination, the Board was to consider a number of relevant factors, such as:

• The right to control the work
• The method of payment
• The right to discharge and
• The relative nature of the work

The Court observed, however, that no single factor was dispositive. Here, claimant testified, as well as marked on her claim for benefits, that she was a volunteer for the charitable organization. She also acknowledged that she was employed by a restoration company, which encouraged volunteerism with the charitable organization, and that she would receive her full salary from that employer when participating in events for the charitable organization during her employment hours. Claimant received no monetary compensation or any other form of financial or economic benefits from the charitable organization in exchange for her volunteer activity.

The Court said that although there was some evidence that the Red Cross could and did control some of the volunteer’s charitable activities, there was substantial evidence to support the Board’s finding that claimant was strictly a volunteer and not an employee. Without an employment relationship between claimant and the charity, there could be no basis for an award of workers’ compensation benefits.