	Pros and Cons

The reason that Congress has sometimes declared private organizations or individuals federal employees for FTCA purposes is generally that it has concluded that potential liability, or the high cost of liability insurance, could discourage an organization, or its employees or volunteers, from doing the work it does. In general, the FTCA makes the United States liable for the torts of its employees to the extent that a private employer would be liable for the torts of its employees, under the law of the state where the tort occurred. The Supreme Court has held that the FTCA makes federal employees immune from suit under state law for torts committed within the scope of employment even when an FTCA exception precludes recovery against the United States. List of Statutes

The following are examples of statutes that make private organizations or individuals federal employees for FTCA purposes, and thus immune from liability under state tort law:
(1) "[T]he Administrative Assistant, with the approval of the Chief Justice, may accept voluntary personal services to assist with public and visitor programs.... No person volunteering personal services under this subsection shall be considered an employee of the United States for any purpose other than for purposes of [the FTCA]." 28 U.S.C. § 12651g(a)(B).
The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b), 2671-2680, makes the United States liable, in accordance with the law of the state where a tort occurs, for some of the torts of its employees committed within the scope of their employment. It also makes federal employees immune from all lawsuits arising under state law for torts committed within the scope of their employment. (The FTCA does not prevent a federal employee from being sued for violating the Constitution or a federal statute that authorizes suit against an individual.) Sometimes, Congress wishes to immunize a private organization, or its employees or volunteers, from tort liability. One way it may do so is to enact a statute declaring that the organization or its employees or volunteers shall be deemed federal employees for purposes of the FTCA. This report discusses the pros and cons of this type of statute, and then provides examples of more than 50 such statutes.