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
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
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?"