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What is the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA)?
The Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA) is a federal act that covers employees in occupations having a traditional relationship to maritime employment. 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 LHWCA in an attempt to give all longshore and harbor workers the same type of protection. Coverage is determined under the LHWCA 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.
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. For example, "checkers" are used both on vessels and on the docks to keep track of the cargo being loaded and unloaded. However, 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. So are gearlocker workers hired to repair, maintain, deliver and retrieve longshoring equipment, even if the gearlocker is located several blocks from the pier.
Persons who work in shipyards building, repairing or tearing down vessels are also covered under the LHWCA 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 LHWCA.
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. |
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