Rep. Bradley Byrne, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, today introduced the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Clarification Act (H.R. 2354), legislation to ensure workers and employers in the recreational marine repair industry have access to affordable workers’ compensation coverage.
Rep. Bradley Byrne, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, introduced the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Clarification Act (H.R. 2354), legislation to ensure workers and employers in the recreational maritime repair industry have access to affordable workers’ compensation coverage.
“This bipartisan legislation corrects a bureaucratic mistake by the Obama administration that has created a cumbersome roadblock to workers’ compensation coverage for a number of maritime employees,” Chairman Byrne said. “Small businesses in the industry face complicated and confusing rules. Some have been forced to drop coverage altogether. With this bill, we can provide regulatory relief for small businesses, including shipbuilders in coastal Alabama, and help ensure maritime workers receive the protections they need.”
“This bill will help protect workers by clearing up a regulatory mess created by the Obama administration,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. “We all want to ensure the men and women working in the maritime industry are covered by workers’ compensation insurance. That’s exactly what this bill is about. I want to thank Representative Byrne for leading this important effort that will help protect workers in the maritime industry and promote access to affordable workers’ compensation coverage.”
BACKGROUND: Enacted in 1927 the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) has provided workers’ compensation coverage to certain private-sector workers. For decades, the law specified that individuals who built, dismantled, or repaired recreational vessels less than 65 feet could be covered under state workers’ compensation law.
In 2009, Congress simplified this provision by eliminating the size limitation and enabling more employers to purchase state workers’ compensation in lieu of more costly insurance under the federal law. However, the Department of Labor then promulgated a rule that created a new definition of “recreational vessel” that contradicted the legislation approved by Congress.
Concerns have been raised that the resulting regulatory confusion has decreased access to affordable workers’ compensation coverage and undermined job creation. The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Clarification Act (H.R. 2354) would remove ambiguity for the recreational vessel repair industry and protect access to affordable workers’ compensation coverage for certain maritime employers and employees. The bill would make the definition of recreational vessel uniform across the entire recreational marine industry consistent with the 2009 amendments.
