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S 1684 114th Congress Senate

Volunteer Organization Protection Act of 2015

Official title: A bill to amend the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 to provide for liability protection for organizations and entities.

Introduced: June 25, 2015 See on congress.gov
Law Civil actions and liabilitySocial work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
This bill died when the 114th Congress ended
It never became law before the 114th Congress (2015–2016) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jun 25, 2015
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Jun 25, 2015
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action June 25, 2015

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Volunteer Organization Protection Act of 2015

Amends the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 to expand liability protections to volunteer nonprofit organizations for harm caused by an act or omission of a volunteer on behalf of the organization.

Prohibits such liability protections from applying if the organization: (1) would be liable under laws governing the direct or vicarious liability of organizations, and (2) expressly authorized the specific conduct constituting the act or omission.

Bars such an organization from liability for harm caused by the organization, or a volunteer acting on its behalf, if the act or omission was at the request of, or pursuant to an authorization by, the federal government, a state government, or another governmental subdivision, provided that: (1) the requesting or authorizing governmental entity would have been immune from suit or from liability in damages if the entity had engaged in the act or omission itself or through an employee, agent, or independent contractor; or (2) any governmental employee, agent, or contractor who had engaged in the act or omission on behalf of the requesting or authorizing governmental entity would have been immune from suit or from liability in damages by virtue of immunity extended to individual governmental actors.

Prohibits punitive damages from being awarded against a volunteer nonprofit organization for the actions of a volunteer within the scope of the volunteer's responsibilities to the organization unless the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the organization itself expressly authorized the volunteer's action with a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed.

Sets forth factors to be considered to determine whether a nonprofit organization is presumed to be a volunteer nonprofit organization.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 1684: Volunteer Organization Protection Act of 2015. 114th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/114-S-1684/
MLA
"S. 1684: Volunteer Organization Protection Act of 2015." 114th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/114-S-1684/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 1684, 114th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/114-S-1684/.
Markdown link
[S. 1684: Volunteer Organization Protection Act of 2015](https://openamerica.io/bill/114-S-1684/)
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