Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act is a federal law that provides medical, disability, and death benefits for longshoremen, harbor workers, and other marine employees who are injured or killed in the course of their employment. The Act is administered by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs of the Employment Standards Administration of the United States Department of Labor.
Applicability
The Act applies to:
- employers who employ workers for maritime work or in a maritime occupation; and
- certain employees who are engaged in maritime work or a maritime occupation, such as longshoremen and harbor workers.
Benefits
Under the Act, an employee who is injured in the course of his employment may recover medical and disability benefits. When an employee is killed in the course of his employment, the employee’s widow, widower or other eligible survivor may recover death benefits.
Penalties
An employer who fails to comply with the Act may be subject to civil and criminal penalties.
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