The Longshore Act; A Complete Survey of Longshore Act Jurisdiction

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STATE BY STATE SURVEY OF CONCURRENT JURISDICTION

1. Alabama – Concurrent jurisdiction.

2. Alaska – Concurrent jurisdiction.

3. Arizona – Unknown.

4. Arkansas – Unknown.

5. California – Concurrent jurisdiction.

6. Colorado – Unknown.

7. Connecticut – Concurrent jurisdiction. Coppola v. Logistec Connecticut,

Inc., 283 Conn. 1, 925 A.2d 257 (2007).

8. Delaware – Concurrent jurisdiction.

9. District of Columbia - Exclusive jurisdiction.

10. Florida – Exclusive jurisdiction.

11. Georgia – Concurrent jurisdiction.

12. Hawaii – Exclusive jurisdiction.

13. Idaho – Unknown.

14. Illinois – Concurrent jurisdiction for “twilight zone” cases only. Uphold v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (National Maintenance & Repair), 385 Ill. App.3d 567, 896 N.E.2d 828 (Ill. App. 5^th District, 2008)(no state jurisdiction for injuries occurring upon navigable waters).

15. Indiana – Unknown.

16. Iowa – Concurrent jurisdiction.

17. Kansas – Unknown.

18. Kentucky – Exclusive jurisdiction. KRS 342.650(4)(“Any person for whom a rule of liability for injury or death is provided by the laws of the United States.”). See also, Morris v. Owensboro Grain Co., LLC, No. 2011-CA-000924-WC (Ky Court of Appeals, June 22, 2012)(unpublished).

19. Louisiana – Exclusive jurisdiction. La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23:1035.2 (“No compensation shall be payable in respect to the disability or death of any employee covered by the Federal Employer's Liability Act, the Longshoremen's and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act, or any of its extensions, or the Jones Act.”).

20. Maine – Concurrent jurisdiction.

21. Maryland - Exclusive provided employee is “eligible under a federal law” and is not engaged in “clearly distinguishable and separable” intrastate commerce. Md. Labor and Employment Code Ann. § 9-223.

22. Massachusetts – Concurrent jurisdiction.

23. Michigan – Concurrent jurisdiction.

24. Minnesota – Concurrent jurisdiction.

25. Mississippi – Exclusive Jurisdiction. Miss. Code. Ann. § 71-3-5 (“This chapter shall not apply to transportation and maritime employments for which a rule of liability is provided by the laws of the United States.”).

26. Missouri - Exclusive jurisdiction.

27. Montana – Unknown.

28. Nebraska – Concurrent jurisdiction.

29. Nevada – Unknown.

30. New Hampshire – Unknown.

31. New Jersey - Exclusive jurisdiction. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 34:15-36 (“Employer" is declared to be synonymous with master, and includes natural persons, partnerships, and corporations; "employee" is synonymous with servant, and includes all natural persons, including officers of corporations, who perform service for an employer for financial consideration, exclusive of (1) employees eligible under the federal ‘Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act,’ 44 Stat. 1424 (33 U.S.C. § 901 et seq.), for benefits payable with respect to accidental death or injury, or occupational disease or infection . . .).

32. New Mexico – Unknown.

33. New York – Concurrent jurisdiction but subject to waiver under NY CLS Work. Comp. § 113 (“The provisions of this chapter shall apply to employers and employees engaged in intrastate, and also interstate or foreign commerce, for whom a rule of liability or method of compensation has been or may be established by the congress of the United States, only to the extent that their mutual connection with intrastate work may and shall be clearly separable and distinguishable from interstate or foreign commerce, provided that awards according to the provisions of this chapter may be made by the board in respect of injuries subject to the admiralty or other federal laws in case the claimant, the employer and the insurance carrier waive their admiralty or interstate commerce rights and remedies, and the state insurance fund or other insurance carrier may assume liability for the payment of such awards under this chapter.)” See Rodriguez v. Reicon Group, LLC, 2010 NY Slip Op 7442; 2010 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7528 (NY Sup. Ct. 3rd, October 21, 2010).

34. North Carolina – Concurrent jurisdiction.

35. North Dakota – Unknown.

36. Ohio – Exclusive jurisdiction as of September 22, 2008. Ohio Labor Code § 4123.54(I) (“If an employee who is covered under the federal ‘Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act,’ 98 Stat. 1639, 33 U.S.C. 901 et seq., is injured or contracts an occupational disease or dies as a result of an injury or occupational disease, and if that employee's or that employee's dependents' claim for compensation or benefits for that injury, occupational disease, or death is subject to the jurisdiction of that act, the employee or the employee's dependents are not entitled to apply for and shall not receive compensation or benefits under this chapter and Chapter 4121 of the Revised Code. The rights of such an employee and the employee's dependents under the federal ‘Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act,’ 98 Stat. 1639, 33 U.S.C. 901 et seq., are the exclusive remedy against the employer for that injury, occupational disease, or death.). Effective 9/22/08.

37. Oklahoma – Unknown.

38. Oregon – Exclusive jurisdiction. Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.027(4)(excludes “A person for whom a rule of liability or injury or death arising out of and in the course of employment as provided by the laws of the United States.”).

39. Pennsylvania – Concurrent jurisdiction for “twilight zone” cases. Wellsville Terminals Co. v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Zacharias), 632 A.2d 1305 (Pa. 1993)(exclusive jurisdiction for injuries occurring on navigable waters); & McElheney v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal (Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard), 940 A.2d 351 (Pa. 2008)(concurrent jurisdiction for injury occurring in dry dock).

40. Rhode Island – Concurrent jurisdiction.

41. South Carolina – Concurrent jurisdiction.

42. South Dakota – Unknown.

43. Tennessee – Concurrent jurisdiction.

44. Texas – Exclusive jurisdiction. Tex. Lab. Code Ann. § 406.091(a)(2), excluding “a person covered by a method of compensation established under federal law.”

45. Utah – Unknown.

46. Vermont – Unknown.

47. Virginia – Exclusive jurisdiction. §65.2-101 of the Code of Virginia excluding “Any person who suffers an injury [on or after July 1, 2012,] for which there is jurisdiction under either the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. § 901 et seq., and its extensions, or the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, 46 U.S.C. § 30104 et seq. However, this title shall not be construed to eliminate or diminish any right that any person or, in the case of the person's death, his personal representative, may have under either the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. § 901 et seq., and its extensions, or the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, 46 U.S.C. § 30104 et seq.”

48. Washington – Exclusive jurisdiction. Wash. Rev. Code § 51.12.100(1)(“Except as otherwise provided in this section, the provisions of this title shall not apply to a master or member of a crew of any vessel, or to employers and workers for whom a right or obligation exists under the maritime laws or federal employees' compensation act for personal injuries or death of such workers.”).

49. West Virginia – Unknown.

50. Wisconsin – Concurrent jurisdiction.

51. Wyoming – Unknown. rights reserved.