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Seaman’s Employment Laws
In 1983 Congress recodifed and somewhat relaxed the
complex laws dating to 1790 regulating the employment
and living conditions of seamen that had been enacted
to protect seaman from abusive employment practices.
It is important to understand that the employment laws
applicable to seamen are unique and differ from the
standard fair labor employment standards that apply to
the typical land based worker. “Seamen” as the term is
used with regard to employment law is given a similar but
slightly different defnition than as is used with regard to
the Jones Act.
To be a seaman for purposes of determining the
applicability of maritime employment law you must be “an
individual (except scientifc personnel and sailing school
employees/students) employed in any capacity on board
a vessel owned by a citizen of the United States”. Most
fshing vessels are exempt. Almost every commercial diver
working from a U.S. vessel will qualify.
Payment of Wages, Penalties,
Overtime and Discrimination
Under federal law, 46 U.S.C. § 10313 and 10540, the
owner and master of a vessel must pay seaman all wages
in full at the end of a voyage or within four days if the
seaman is discharged. In practical application if your
employer has a predetermined payment schedule such
as the 1st
and 15th
of each month such is acceptable. If however you are discharged from employment payment
must be made within 4 days.
Wages covered by maritime labor law include all
compensation due semen for their on board service
including bonuses, vacation pay, annual allowances and
severance pay. Wages do not include fringe benefts.
The law provides for a penalty of 2 days wages for each
day payment is delayed. “Good Cause” is a defense to
penalty wages. Reasonable belief that claimed wages are
not due, a bona fde dispute as to the amount owed or an
honest accounting mistake are all acceptable defenses to
a penalty claim.
The most frequent question Delise & Hall receives
regarding labor and wage law involves overtime. While
most land based workers are statutorily entitled to receive
1.5 times their hourly rate over 8 hours, this law does not
apply to seamen. There is a dispute among the courts
regarding the applicability of various state wage laws but
the majority opinion is that state law also does not apply
to overtime claims. Accordingly overtime pay for seamen
is not legally required and should be addressed in any
employment agreement.
Attachment of Seaman Wages
46 U.S.C. § 11109 prohibits the attachment of a seaman’s
wages except for support of a spouse or minor child as
may be ordered by a court.
Federal statutes addressing age, race and sexual
discrimination are applicable to seamen meaning that a
seaman can bring a discrimination claim.
Wrongful discharge
The general rule of maritime law is that absent constraints
imposed by an employment agreement or federal
discrimination law an employer may terminate the
employment of an employee at will with or without cause.
Basically this means that you can be fred at any time
for any non discriminatory reason. Some courts however
have not allowed an employer to fre an employee as a
result of a personal injury claim. Additionally the “whistle
blower protection statute” protects seaman who report
statutory violations from wrongful discharge.
