United States Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation

USL&H

USL&H is a federal act (sometimes referred to as the Longshore Harbor Workers' Compensation Act - LHWCA) designed to provide compensation to an employee if an injury or death occurs upon navigable waters of the US - including any adjoining pier, wharf, dry dock, terminal, building-way, marine railway or other adjoining area customarily used by an employer in loading, unloading, repairing, dismantling or building a vessel.

 

The act was initially passed by the United States Congress in 1927, and provided coverage to longshore workers working upon navigable waters of the United States in instances in which no state workers compensation law applied. However, in 1984, Congress substantially amended the USL&H in an attempt to give all longshore and harbor workers the same type of protection. Coverage is determined under the USL&H dependant upon the location where the employee was working, and dependant upon whether or not the type of work performed had a traditional relationship to maritime employment.

 

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as part of the stimulus package and economic recovery program. One feature of that legislation amended the United State Longshore Harbor Workers Compensation Act. Previously, companies with employees that worked on any size commercial vessel, or recreational vessels over 65 feet, would need to be covered with USL&H insurance. With this bill those employees can be covered under State Workers Compensation Insurance. However, this excludes boat manufacturers and builders, repairers of commercials vessels of any length, marine contractors, dock builders, dredgers, ect., and those who do not carry State Act workers compensation, these excluded classes still need USL&H.

 

The coverage is clear with regard to workers engaged in such longshore operations as loading and unloading a vessel, but the question becomes more difficult when these activities are coupled with shoreside activities that may be some distance from the pier. In addition to the persons who actually load and unload cargos, support persons are also necessary and they are traditionally covered as a part of the loading and unloading business. It is not necessary that the employment activities take place on or near a pier at the water's edge. For example, a mechanic, injured changing a tire on a forklift truck in a marine terminal, is covered under the Act. Gear locker workers hired to repair, maintain, deliver and retrieve longshoring equipment, even if the gear locker is located several blocks from the pier. Persons who work in shipyards building, repairing or tearing down vessels are also covered under the USL&H as well as persons involved in building docks or other structures over the water. Truck drivers, forklift operators, crane operators, and others, may also be covered under the USL&H. Finally, employees on fixed oil production platforms on the continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico and on fixed platforms elsewhere are also covered by the Act.

 

The Act provides that an employer who fails to satisfy the insurance requirement shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both. Also, where the employer is a corporation, the President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be separately personally liable to such fine and imprisonment, and also liable, jointly and severally with such corporation, for any compensation or other benefit that may accrue under the Act.

 

An uninsured employer may also be subject to civil suit by an injured employee pursuant to Section 5 of the Act. The injured worker or his legal representative may elect to claim compensation under the Act, or to maintain an action at law or in admiralty for damages on account of the injury. In such action, the defendant may not plead as a defense that the injury was caused by the negligence of a fellow servant, or that an employee assumed the risk of his employment, or that the injury was due to the contributory negligence of the employee.

 

USL&H insurance coverage is more expensive than State Workers Compensation for the same classification, but when you need it, you need it. Unless and until the law is amended again, employers whose employees are working on the navigable water (and are not specifically excluded under the current statute) need longshore coverage. The Department of Labor, in conjunction with the State of Florida Workers’ Compensation Compliance Bureau, is working to ensure that those businesses with longshore exposure have the correct insurance coverage.

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