Veteran Longshore Act practitioners have authored a new article which provides us with a crash course on the history and legislative/judicial highlights of the law. See Kathleen K. Charvet, Heather W. Angelico, & Michael T. Amy, Gilding the Lily: The Genesis of the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act in 1927, the 1972 Amendments, the 1984 Amendments, and the Extension Acts, 91 Tulane Law Review 881 (May 2017), available (for $5.00), at https://tlsstore.law.tulane.edu/Product/gilding-the-lily-the-genesis-of-the-longshoremens-and-harbor-workers-compensation-act-in-1927-th.
The authors explain how the law was first enacted in 1926 in the wake of intransigent problems in making the new state workers’ compensation laws fit cases of injuries sustained by longshoremen and similar occupations. They further explain that the law has been interpreted several times over the decades. As they set forth their explanation, they highlight the key U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have interpreted the law.
Of note is the authors’ observation that, originally, the law was intended even to cover seamen. However, organized maritime labor opposed any bill that would eliminate the possibility of damages for negligence, so that plan was dropped. And, of course, in the modern day such claims are governed by the FELA-like Jones’ Act.
Reflecting on the many jurisdictional complexities that have existed over the years, the authors conclude their much-appreciated lecture by positing, “In light of Supreme Court decisions regarding status and situs and the various diverse federal statutes incorporating the LHWCA, it may be time to consider if principles of federalism and uniformity might be advanced by a single comprehensive federal workers’ compensation system for all maritime, offshore, and overseas employees….”