22 Cfr 305.2

§ 304.12

22 CFR Ch. III (4–1–09 Edition)

the claimant is dissatisfied with the
Peace Corps action, he may file suit in
an appropriate U.S. District Court not
later than 6 months after the date of
mailing of the notification.

in the assessment and selection of eligible applicants for training and service. In selecting individuals for Peace
Corps Volunteer service under this subpart, as required by section 5(a) of the
Peace Corps Act, as amended, ‘‘no political test shall be required to be
taken into consideration, nor shall
there be any discrimination against
any person on account of race, sex,
creed, or color.’’ Further, in accordance with section 417(c)(1) of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 5057 (c)(1)) the nondiscrimination policies and authorities
set forth in section 717 of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16),
title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(29 U.S.C. 791 et seq.) and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101
et seq.), are also applicable to the selection, placement, service and termination of Peace Corps Volunteers.

§ 304.12 Action on approved claim.
(a) Payment of a claim approved
under this subpart is contingent on
claimant’s execution of (1) a ‘‘Claim for
Damage or Injury,’’ Standard From 95;
and (2) a ‘‘Voucher for Payment,’’
Standard Form 1145, as appropriate.
When a claimant is represented by an
attorney, the voucher for payment
shall designate the claimant and his
attorney as copayees, and the check
shall be delivered to the attorney,
whose address shall appear on the
voucher.
(b) Acceptance by the claimant, his
agent, or legal representative of an
award, compromise, or settlement
made under section 2672 or 2677 of title
28, United States Code, is final and conclusive on the claimant, his agent or
legal representative, and any other person on whose behalf or for whose benefit the claim has been presented, and
constitutes a complete release of any
claim against the United States and
against any officer or employee of the
Government whose act or omission
gave rise to the claim, by reason of the
same subject matter.

§ 305.2 Eligibility.
In addition to those skills, personal
attributes and aptitudes required for
available Volunteer assignments, the
following are the basic requirements
that an applicant must satisfy in order
to receive an invitation to train for
Peace Corps Volunteer service.
(a) Citizenship. The applicant must be
a citizen of the United States or have
made arrangements satisfactory to the
Office of Marketing, Recruitment,
Placement and Staging (MRPS) and
the Office of General Counsel (D/GC) to
be naturalized prior to taking the oath
prescribed for enrollment as a Peace
Corps Volunteer. (See section 5[a] of
the Peace Corps Act, as amended).
(b) Age. The applicant must be at
least 18 years old.
(c) Medical status. The applicant
must, with reasonable accommodation,
have the physical and mental capacity
required of a Volunteer to perform the
essential functions of the Peace Corps
Volunteer assignment for which he or
she is otherwise eligible, and be able to
complete an agreed upon tour of service, ordinarily two years, without unreasonable disruption due to health
problems. In determining what is a reasonable accommodation, the Peace
Corps may take into account the adequacy of local medical facilities. In determining whether an accommodation

PART 305—ELIGIBILITY AND STANDARDS FOR PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER SERVICE
Sec.
305.1
305.2
305.3
305.4
305.5

Purpose and general guideline.
Eligibility.
Background investigations.
Selection standards.
Procedures.

AUTHORITY: Sec. 4(b), 5(a) and 22, 75 Stat.
612, 22 U.S.C. 2504; E.O. 12137, May 16, 1979,
sec. 601, International Security and Development Cooperation Act of 1981; 95 Stat. 1519 at
1540, sec. 417(c)(1), Domestic Volunteer Service Act (42 U.S.C. 5057(c)(1)).

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SOURCE: 49 FR 38939, Oct. 2, 1984, unless
otherwise noted.

§ 305.1 Purpose and general guideline.
This subpart states the requirements
for eligibility for Peace Corps Volunteer service and the factors considered

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Peace Corps

§ 305.2

would impose an undue hardship on the
operation of the Peace Corps, factors to
be considered include: (1) The overall
size of the Peace Corps program with
respect to the number of employees
and/or Volunteers, size of budget, and
size and composition of staff at post of
assignment, (2) the nature and cost of
the accommodation, and (3) the capacity of the host country agency to which
the applicant would be assigned to provide any special accommodation necessary for the applicant to carry out
the assignment.
(d) Legal status. The applicant must
not be on parole or probation to any
court or have any court established or
acknowledged financial or other legal
obligation which, in the opinion of D/
GC and MRPS, cannot be satisfied or
postponed during the period of Peace
Corps service.
(e) Intelligence background. In accordance with longstanding Peace Corps
policy, prior employment by any agency of the United States Government,
civilian or military, or division of such
an agency, whose exclusive or principle
function is the performance of intelligence activities; or engaging in intelligence activities or related work may
disqualify a person from eligibility for
Peace Corps service. See section 611 of
the Peace Corps Manual.
(f) Marital status. (1) Ordinarily, if an
applicant is married or intends to
marry prior to Peace Corps service,
both husband and wife must apply and
qualify for assignment at the same location. Exceptions to this rule will be
considered by the Office of Volunteer
Placement (MRPS/P) under the following conditions:
(2)(i) Unaccompanied married applicant. In order to qualify for consideration for Peace Corps service, a married applicant whose spouse does not
wish to accompany him/her overseas
must provide the Office of Placement
(MRPS/P) with a notarized letter from
the spouse acknowledging that he or
she is aware of the applicant spouse’s
intention to serve as a Peace Corps
Volunteer for two years or more and
that any financial and legal obligations
of the applicant to his or her spouse
can be met during the period of Peace
Corps service. In determining eligibility in such cases, MRPS/P will also

consider whether the service of one
spouse without the accompaniment of
the other can reasonably be anticipated to disrupt the applicant spouse’s
service overseas.
(ii) In addition to satisfying the
above requirements, a married applicant who is legally, or in fact, separated from his or her spouse, must provide MRPS/P with copies of any agreements or other documentation setting
forth any legal and financial responsibilities which the parties have to one
another during any period of separation.
(3) Divorced applicants. Applicants
who have been divorced must provide
MRPS/P with copies of all legal documents related to the divorce.
(g) Dependents. Peace Corps has authority to provide benefits and allowances for the dependent children of
Peace Corps Volunteers who are under
the age of 18. However, applicants with
dependent children under the age of 18
will not be considered eligible for
Peace Corps service unless MRPS/P determines that the skills of the applicants are essential to meet the requirements of a Volunteer project, and that
qualified applicants without minor dependents are not available to fill the
assignment.
(1) Procedures for placing volunteers
with children. The placement of any
couple with dependent children must
have the concurrence of the appropriate Country and Regional Director.
(2) If the applicant has any dependents who will not accompany him or
her overseas, the applicant must satisfy MRPS/P and the General Counsel
that adequate arrangements have been
made for the care and support of the
dependent during any period of training and Peace Corps service; that such
service will not adversely affect the relationship between the applicant and
dependent in such a way as to disrupt
his or her service; and that he or she is
not using Peace Corps service to escape
responsibility for the welfare of any dependents under the age of 18.
(3) Married couples with more than
two children or with children who are
below two years of age are not eligible
for Peace Corps service except in extraordinary circumstances as approved

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§ 305.3

22 CFR Ch. III (4–1–09 Edition)
(1) Language. The ability to communicate in the language of the country
of service with the fluency required to
meet the needs of the overseas assignment.
(2) Technical competence. Proficiency
in the technical skills needed to carry
out the assignment.
(3) Knowledge. Adequate knowledge of
the culture and history of the country
of assignment to ensure a successful
adjustment to, and acceptance by, the
host country society. The Trainee
must also have an awareness of the history and government of the United
States which qualifies the individual to
represent the United States abroad.
(e) Failure to meet standards. Failure
to meet any of the selection standards
by the completion of training may be
grounds for deselection and disqualification from Peace Corps service.

by the Director of the Peace Corps or
designee.
(h) Military service. Applicants with
military or national guard obligation
must provide MRPS/P with a written
statement from their commanding officer that their presence will not be required by their military unit for the
duration of their Peace Corps service,
except in case of national emergency.
(i) Failure to disclose requested information. Failure to disclose, and/or the
misrepresentation of material information requested by the Peace Corps regarding any of the above described
standards of eligibility may be grounds
for disqualification or separation from
Peace Corps Volunteer service. (See
section 284 of the Peace Corps Manual.)

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§ 305.3 Background investigations.
Section 22 of the Peace Corps Act
states that to ensure enrollment of a
Volunteer is consistent with the national interest, no applicant is eligible
for Peace Corps Volunteer service without a background investigation. The
Peace Corps requires that all applicants accepted for training have as a
minimum a National Agency Check.
Information revealed by the investigation may be grounds for disqualification from Peace Corps service.

§ 305.5 Procedures.
Procedures for filing, investigating,
and determining allegations of discrimination on the basis of race, color,
national origin, religion, age, sex,
handicap or political affiliation in the
application of any provision of this
part are contained in MS 293 (45 CFR
part 1225).

PART 306—VOLUNTEER DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

§ 305.4 Selection standards.
To qualify for selection for overseas
service as a Peace Corps Volunteer, applicants must demonstrate that they
possess the following personal attributes:
(a) Motivation. A sincere desire to
carry out the goals of Peace Corps
service, and a commitment to serve a
full term as a Volunteer.
(b) Productive competence. The intelligence and educational background to
meet the needs of the individual’s assignment.
(c) Emotional maturity/adaptability.
The maturity, flexibility, and self-sufficiency to adapt successfully to life in
another culture, and to interact and
communicate with other people regardless of cultural, social, and economic
differences.
(d) Skills. By the end of training, in
addition to the attributes mentioned
above, a Trainee must demonstrate
competence in the following areas:

CROSS REFERENCE: ACTION regulations
concerning the volunteer discrimination
complaint procedure, appearing in 45 CFR
part 1225, are applicable to Peace Corps volunteers. Part 1225 appears at 46 FR 1609, Jan.
6, 1981.

PART 308—IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974
Sec.
308.1 Purpose.
308.2 Policy.
308.3 Definitions.
308.4 Disclosure of records.
308.5 New uses of information.
308.6 Reports regarding changes in systems.
308.7 Use of social security account number
in records systems. [Reserved]
308.8 Rules of conduct.
308.9 Records systems—management and
control.

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