1211.1-3—Definitions.
(a)
Volunteer means a person enrolled and currently serving as a full-time volunteer under part A of title I of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973. For the purpose of this part, a volunteer whose service has terminated shall be deemed to be a volunteer for a period of 90 days thereafter.
(b)
Grievance means a matter arising out of, and directly affecting, the volunteer's work situation, or a violation of those regulations governing the terms and conditions of service resulting in the denial or infringement of a right or benefit to the grieving volunteer. Terms and conditions of service refer to those rights and privileges accorded the volunteer either through statute, Agency regulation, or Agency policy.
(1)
The relief requested must be directed toward the correction of the matter involving the affected individual volunteer or the affected group of volunteers and may request the revision of existing policies and procedures to ensure against similar occurrences in the future. Requests for relief by more than one volunteer arising from a common cause within one region may be treated as a single grievance. The following are examples of grievable matters:
(i)
A volunteer is assigned to an area of harsh climate where special clothing is necessary and not already possessed by the volunteer. A request for a special allowance for such clothing is arbitrarily refused.
(ii)
A volunteer submits a request for reimbursement for transportation costs incurred while on authorized emergency leave which is denied.
(iii)
The project sponsor fails to provide adequate support to the volunteer necessary for that volunteer to perform the assigned work, such as the sponsor's failure to provide materials to the volunteer which is necessary for the performance of the volunteer's work.
(c)
State Program Officer means that ACTION official who is directly responsible at the first level for the project in which the volunteer is serving.
(e)
Grievance Examiner or Examiner means a person having the qualifications described in Appendix A who is appointed to conduct an inquiry or hearing with respect to a grievance.
(f)
National VISTA Grants Program means a program operated under part A, title I of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act in which ACTION awards a grant to a national grantee to operate a VISTA Volunteer program on a national or multi-regional basis.
(g)
Local component means a local office or project affiliate of a national grantee which has VISTA Volunteers assigned to it under the National VISTA Grants Program.
(h)
The Act means the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, Pub. L. 93-113, (42 U.S.C. 4951
et seq. ), as amended.