USL&H coverage

The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) provides workers' comp benefits to maritime employees injured on the navigable waters of the United States or in adjoining areas customarily used for loading, unloading, building or repairing vessels, such as piers, docks and shipyards. Longshore workers, harbor workers, shipbuilders, shipbreakers and ship repairers are the typical examples. State comp laws generally do not reach those injuries, and a standard policy does not pay federal benefits unless the NCCI endorsement WC 00 01 06 A adds them.

The federal Department of Labor runs the system, and the benefits follow the federal statute, not the state schedule. Premium rises accordingly: work not ordinarily subject to the act is rated up by a USL&H percentage on the policy schedule, and maritime class codes carry their own rates. The endorsement does not cover the Defense Base Act or the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which need separate forms.

Crew members of vessels are outside the act. They fall under the Jones Act, which is covered by maritime employers' liability insurance, and the line between a longshore worker and a seaman is litigated often. The classic pitfall is a contractor with occasional over-water or dock work, running on a policy with other states coverage only. The guide on USL&H, the Jones Act and maritime employers liability explained explains how the pieces fit.