Appeals Court Says Container Repairer is 'Maritime Employee' For Workmen's Compensation
An employee who works to repair marine containers is a maritime employee, even though he never goes to sea or loads or unloads ships, said an opinion by the Fifth U.S. Appeals Court, New Orleans. The decision upheld an administrative law judge's reasoning in a workmen's compensation case (New Orleans Depot Services V. Director, Office of Worker's Compensation Programs, U.S. Department of Labor; New Orleans Marine Contractors; and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association Limited.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Circuit Judge Edith Clement, a member of the appeals panel, dissented, saying "the majority's reasoning sweeps so broadly that it threatens to swallow every employer with even a tangential relation to the maritime industry. If a worker whose sole responsibility is to repair containers is covered by the LHWCA, why not a factory worker who manufactures those same containers?"