Seaman Status

Courts use a three part test to determine seaman status for maritime workers. First, the worker must be assigned to a vessel, or an identifiable fleet of vessels, in operation on a navigable waterway. Second, the duties of the worker must contribute to the vessel’s function or mission. Third, the connection to the vessel must be substantial in both time and nature.

The test for seaman status is relatively straightforward. To qualify under the first prong of the seaman status test, a worker must be assigned to work on a vessel that has not been removed from operation and is not permanently moored. Further, the vessel must be operating on a navigable waterway. When deciding what qualifies as a navigable waterway, courts consider the location of the body of water upon which the vessel was located and all waterways to which the body of water connects. For example, certain inland lakes qualify as navigable waterways because they are fed by major rivers.

To determine if the duties of the injured worker contribute to the vessel’s function or mission, Courts examine the injured worker’s duties in relation to the vessel’s operation. Deckhands and engineers meet this prong of the seaman status test and so do housekeeping stewards and cooks. Housekeeping and cooking on a vessel are vital to the daily functioning of the crew and operation of that vessel.

Last, the substantial connection to maritime activities requirement means that a significant amount of the worker's time must be spent aboard a vessel, performing duties that contribute to the vessel. A dockside welder who occasionally goes out to barges to perform welding repairs for other companies might not qualify as a Jones Act seaman because his primary duties take place on land and his presence on the vessel is transient. Seaman status does not require that 100% of your time be spent on a vessel, but it must be more than an occasional occurrence.

Seaman status and coverage under the Jones Act does not require that the injured worker receive compensation for the duties performed. Sometimes unpaid volunteers qualify for seaman status and are able to take advantage of the Jones Act's protections.

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