Are AmeriCorps members employees?
AmeriCorps members are not employees of the AmeriCorps program or of the federal government. The definition of participant in the National and Community Service Act of 1990 as amended applies to AmeriCorps members. As such, a participant (member) shall not be considered to be an employee of the Program in which the participant (member) is enrolled (42 U.S.C. 12511(17) (B)). Moreover, members are not allowed to perform an employees duties or otherwise displace employees. For the limited purposes of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the member may be considered an eligible employee of the project sponsor. The Family and Medical Leave Acts requirements as they apply to AmeriCorps Programs are contained in 45 CFR 2540.220(b).
