Op-Ed: Surfboards, Kayaks Are 'Vessels' Under Jones Act

Monday, December 24, 2018 | 0

Surfboards, kayaks and other recreational watercraft qualify as vessels under the federal Jones Act, a fact the Washington Examiner claims to be “creating big problems for workers’ comp.”

Nicholas DeSimone, a freelance policy journalist in Washington, D.C., writes in the editorial that the overlapping coverage for industrial injuries is particularly problematic for small recreational water sport businesses in Hawaii.

Part of the Jones Act allows some people working in marine industries to sue their employer for occupational injuries. Because of two “flawed” Supreme Court decisions, the federal law extends to apply to those working on recreational vessels as well as commercial transport ships.

In Chandris Inc. v Latsis, the high court said a person spending less than 30% of his annual work time servicing a vessel is not a seaman under the Jones Act. Ten years later, the 2005 decision in Steward v. Dutra Construction Co. determined that a vessel includes “every description of watercraft” that can be used for transportation on water.

DeSimone, who has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics, doesn’t explain why the decisions are legally flawed. The implication appears to be that the problem is the potential costs employers could face to comply. Those costs, in Hawaii, could be as much as $20,000 a year, according to the editorial.

“The average insurance policy for state coverage through (Hawaii Employers Mutual Insurance Co.) can cost as much as $10,000 in annual premiums, and adding Jones Act coverage could cost another $10,000 a year in premiums,” the report says. “This makes complying with the laws very costly for these businesses.”

According to the Examiner, this isn’t purely a thought experiment. There is one case in which the Hawaii Department of Labor denied a workers’ compensation claim by finding that the worker qualified for coverage under the Jones Act.

DeSimone doesn’t provide additional information about the case. But the conclusion is that amending the Jones Act to add an exception for “recreational vessels” could save Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico between $5 billion to $15 billion a year.