cluding the production of pertinent records.

(4) Formal rules of evidence shall not be applied strictly, but the Examiner may exclude irrelevant or unduly repetitious testimony or evidence.

(5) Decisions on the admissibility of evidence or testimony shall be made by the Examiner.

(6) Testimony shall be under oath or affirmation, administered by the Examiner.

(7) The Examiner shall give the parties an opportunity to present oral and written testimony that is relevant and material, and to cross-examine witnesses who testify.

(8) The Examiner may exclude any person from the hearing for conduct that obstructs the hearing.

(c) Witnesses. (1) All parties are entitled to produce witnesses.

(2) Volunteers, employees of a sponsor, and employees of ACTION shall be made available as witnesses when requested by the Examiner. The Examiner may request witnesses on his or her initiative. Parties shall furnish to the Examiner and to opposing parties a list of proposed witnesses, and an explanation of what the testimony of each is expected to show, at least ten (10) calendar days before the date of the hearing. The Examiner may waive the time limit in appropriate circumstances.

(3) Employees of ACTION shall remain in a duty status during the time they are made available as wit

nesses.

(4) Volunteers, employees and any other persons who serve as witnesses shall be free from coercion, discrimination or reprisal for presenting their testimony.

(5) The Examiner must authorize payment of travel expenses and per diem at standard Government rates for the volunteer and the representative to attend the hearing. Payment of travel expenses and per diem at standard Government rates for other witnesses to attend the hearing are authorized only after the Examiner determines that the required testimony cannot be satisfactorily obtained by affidavit, written interrogatories, or deposition, at a lesser cost.

(d) Recording of Hearing. A grievant may make a recording of the hearing at his or her own expense if no verbatim transcript is made. Such a recording is in no way to be treated as the official transcript of the hearing.

(e) Report of Hearing. The Examiner shall normally prepare a written summary of the hearing which shall inIclude all documents and exhibits submitted to and accepted by the Examiner during the course of the grievance. An Examiner may require a verbatim transcript if he or she determines that the grievance is so complex as to require such a transcript. If the hearing is reported verbatim, the Examiner shall make the transcript a part of the record of the proceedings. If the hearing is not reported verbatim, a suitable summary of pertinent portions of the testimony shall be made part of the record of proceedings. In such cases, the summary together with exhibits shall constitute the report of the hearing. The parties are entitled to submit written exceptions to any part of the summary, and these written exceptions shall be made part of the record of proceedings.

§ 1211.1-13 Grievance file and examiner's report.

(a) Preparation and content. The Examiner shall establish a grievance file containing all documents related to the grievance, including statements of witnesses, records or copies thereof, and the report of the hearing when a hearing was held. The file shall also contain the Examiner's report of findings and recommendations.

(b) Review by volunteer. On completion of the inquiry, the Examiner shall make the grievance file available to the volunteer and the representative, if any, for review and comment. Their coments, if any, shall be submitted to the Examiner within five (5) calendar days after the file is made available and shall be included in the file.

(c) Examiner's report. After the volunteer has been given an opportunity to review the grievance file, the Examiner shall submit the complete grievance file to the Director of VISTA.

§ 1211.1-14 Final determination by Director of VISTA.

The Director of VISTA or designee shall issue a written decision on the appeal to the volunteer within ten (10) working days after receipt of the appeal file. The decision shall include a statement of the basis for the determination, and shall be the final Agency decision.

§ 1211.1-15 Disposition of grievance appeal files.

All grievance appeal files shall be retained by the Director of VISTA after the grievance has been settled, or a final decision has been made and implemented. No part of a grievance or appeal file may be made part of, or included in, a volunteer's official folder.

§ 1211.1-16 Grievance procedure for National VISTA Grant Volunteers. The grievance procedure for National VISTA Grant Volunteers shall be the same as that provided in this part with the following substitutions of officials:

(a) Informal grievance procedure:

a

(1) The initiation of an informal grievance for a National Grant VISTA, see § 1211.1-10, shall normally be to the sponsor of the local component. If the grievance involves matter solely within the control of the ACTION State Office, the volunteer may present the grievance to the State Director or designee in lieu of the local component sponsor.

(2) If the volunteer is not satisfied with the response of the appropriate official (sponsor of local component, or State Director or designee), the volunteer may submit the grievance to the chief executive of the national grantee.

(b) Formal grievance procedure:

The Chief, VISTA Program Development Branch or designee shall replace the Regional Director as the official in § 1211.1-11.

APPENDIX A-STANDARDS FOR
EXAMINERS

An examiner must meet the requirements specified in either paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of this appendix:

(1) Current or former federal employees now or formerly in grade GS-12 or equivalent, or above who have:

(a) At least four (4) years of progressively responsible experience in administrative, managerial, professional, investigative, or technical work which has demonstrated the possession of:

(i) The personal attributes essential to the effective performance of the duties of an Examiner, including integrity, discretion, reliability, objectivity, impartiality, resourcefulness, and emotional stability.

(ii) A high degree of ability to:

Identify and select appropriate sources of information; collect, organize, analyze, and evaluate information; and arrive at sound conclusions on the basis of that information;

Analyze situations; make an objective and logical determinationn of the pertinent facts; evaluate the facts; and develop practicable recommendations or decisions on the basis of facts;

Recognize the causes of complex problems and apply mature judgment in assessing the practical implications of alternative solutions to those problems;

Interpret and apply regulations and other complex written material;

Communicate effectively, orally and in writing, including the ability to prepare clear and concise written reports; and

Deal effectively with individuals and groups, including the ability to gain the cooperation and confidence of others.

(iii) A good working knowledge of:

The relationship between volunteer administration and overall management concerns; and

The principles, systems, methods, and administrative machinery for accomplishing the work of an organization.

(2) Designation as an arbitrator on a panel of arbitrators maintained by either the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or the American Arbitration Association.

(3) Current or former employment as, or current eligibility on the Office of Personnel Management register for Examiners GS-935-0.

(4) Membership in good standing in the National Academy of Arbitrators.

(a) Section 122(a), Part C, of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (the Act), Pub. L. 93-113, 87 Stat. 401, authorizes the Director of ACTION to conduct and to make contracts for special volunteer programs to encourage wider volunteer participation on a fulltime basis to strengthen and supplement efforts to meet a broad range of human, social, and environmental needs, particularly those related to poverty. The ACTION Cooperative Volunteer Program (ACV) is one of these special volunteer programs. It provides full-time volunteer service opportunities for individuals in assignments with nonprofit and public agency sponsors involving a broad range of human, social, and environmental needs, particularly those related to poverty. Organizations wishing to become sponsors enter into an agreement with ACTION to share expenses associated with ACV volunteer assignments. The sponsor's share consists of reimbursing ACTION for the direct costs of volunteer support, i.e. allowances, stipend and other direct benefits.

(b) Section 122(b) requires that the assignment of ACV volunteers be on such terms and conditions as the Director shall determine.

(c) Section 122(c) provides that the Director may provide to persons serving as full-time volunteers in a program of at least one year's duration

such allowances and stipends as he determines are necessary. The kinds and amount of such allowances and stipends may not exceed those authorized to be provided to VISTA volunteers (Part A, Title I, Pub. L. 93-113).

Subpart B-Description of Volunteer Service

§ 1213.2-1 Enrollment and duration of service.

ACTION enrolls an individual in ACV during the preservice processing it provides. Such enrollment is for a period comprising the time of such processing, ACTION preservice orientation, and a one-year assignment to a project.

§ 1213.2-2 Provisional volunteers.

Individuals are considered to be provisional volunteers during the period of pre-service processing and ACTION preservice orientation. They have all the rights and benefits and are subject to all the duties of volunteers, except as expressly provided in these regulations or where it would appear from the language of a section of the regulations to be inappropriate.

§ 1213.2-3 Extension of service and reenrollment.

In certain situations, a volunteer may have his period of volunteer service extended for not more than one year, at the request of a sponsor and the concurrence of the appropriate ACTION Regional Director.

A volunteer may only be reenrolled for a period of at least one year. A sponsor must request the reenrollment and it must be approved by the appropriate ACTION Regional Director. No volunteer may serve for more than a total of five years in full-time volunteer programs under Title I of Pub. L. 93-113.

Such extensions and reenrollments may be for the same or different projects and may include interregional and intraregional transfers.

§ 1213.2-4 Living conditions.

To the extent practicable volunteers are expected to make a personal commitment to live among and at the eco

nomic level of the people served by the project in which the volunteer works. The sponsor will insure that this commitment is observed.

§ 1213.2-5 Role of the volunteer.

The volunteer's assignments are carried out under the auspices of the sponsor. The volunteer assumes a "live-in" obligation carrying his work into all facets of community life and social activity. He is available for service without regard to regular working hours seven days a week, except for periods of approved leave.

Subpart C-ACTION Provided Volunteer Support

§ 1213.3-1 Financial support.

(a) Food and lodging. Each ACV volunteer receives from ACTION a food and lodging allowance approximately commensurate with the actual standard of living of the residents of the community to which he is assigned. The amount of this allowance is determined by the Regional Office after consultation with the sponsor.

(b) Personal living allowance. ACTION also provides each volunteer a personal living allowance of $75 per month. It is intended to cover incidental expenses and local travel.

(c) Adjustment allowance. At the beginning of service, a volunteer may receive from ACTION an adjustment allowance when necessary to cover the initial cost of securing and setting up living quarters. Such an allowance is usually provided only to volunteers who serve outside their home area. It is not usually available to volunteers recruited locally for an assignment in their home or nearby communities.

(d) Stipend. At the conclusion of the term of service, each volunteer receives a stipend of $50 for each month of service on an ACV project. Volunteers may be authorized to make biweekly allotments from the stipend, not in excess of $12.50, in extraordinary circumstances. These may include allotments for obligations incurred prior to service for family support, insurance or loan payments and income taxes.

(e) Provisional volunteers. Provisional volunteers do not receive any allowances nor do they accrue stipends. During the period they are provisional volunteers their food and lodging is provided by ACTION and they receive a nominal amount of money for living expenses.

(f) Emergencies. In case of emergencies, ACTION may provide the volunteer with assistance and support to prevent injury or hardship to him, including a $500 advance against allowances and stipends due the volunteer or to be paid subsequently to him during his volunteer service.

(g) No dependent support. ACTION assumes no financial responsibility for a non-volunteer spouse, a volunteer's children or other dependents.

§ 1213.3-2 Transportation.

ACTION will be responsible for providing the volunteer with needed transportation for the following pur

poses:

(a) To, and when appropriate, from volunteer/sponsor staging;

(b) To the pre-service processing site, whether it is the ACTION Regional Office or any other designated facility;

(c) To the project site following completion of pre-service processing, and at the beginning of the volunteer's terms of service;

(d) For the return trip from the projects site to the volunteer's home of record following completion of service;

(e) Whenever necessary to enable the volunteer to travel outside the geographic area to which he has been assigned when he does so at the request of the Government;

(f) When approved in cases of emergency.

For the purpose of paragraph (d) of this section, the term "home of record" shall be either:

(1) The legal residence of the volunteer's parent or legal guardian if the volunteer had been residing with the parent or legal guardian immediately prior to entering ACTION service, or if the volunteer was a full-time student whose permanent residency was with the parent or legal guardian.