On August 17th the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs published proposed regulations implementing amendments to the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), relating to the exclusion of certain recreational-vessel workers from the LHWCA’s definition of ‘‘employee.’’ These regulations seek to clarify both the definition of ‘‘recreational vessel’’ and those circumstances under which workers are excluded from LHWCA coverage when working on those vessels.
The proposed rules also codify the Department’s longstanding view that employees are covered under the LHWCA so long as SOME of their work constitutes ‘‘maritime employment’’ within the meaning of the statute.
Please click here for the proposed regulations. The Department is inviting written comments on the proposed rule from interested parties and is particularly interested in receiving comments regarding the proposed definition of ‘‘recreational vessel.’’ Written comments must be received by October 18, 2010.
Comments should be submitted in writing, identified by RIN number 1240–AA02, by any of the following methods. To facilitate the receipt and processing of comment letters, OWCP encourages interested parties to submit their comments electronically.