In a surprisingly overwhelming show of support in the Pennsylvania House and Senate, HB 2081 has passed through both houses and the vote today in support of the bill on the floor of the Senate was 46-0 with 4 no votes.
The sponsor of the bill, Representative William (Billy) Adolph, who chairs the House Appropriations committee, was a strong advocate for the bill and laid out the case for the bill very clearly in his statement before introduction that he intended to clarify Pennsylvania’s worker compensation coverage of maritime employees.
He noted that as a result of court intervention, it had become prudent for maritime employers along the Delaware and Allegheny Rivers as well as Lake Erie, to provide dual workers compensation coverage under the Federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act and the state Worker’s Compensation Act.
This dual coverage dilemma is not unique to Pennsylvania. Other Maritime states such as New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri and Louisiana have passed similar laws as HB 2081which would end the practice of injured workers covered under the Federal Longshore Act also considering filing a claim under state law. The bill was intended to negate the expense of covering employees under both statutes.
Rep. Adolph also observed that this dual coverage for one employer had been estimated at $500,000 which could be used to hire additional employees and to better meet construction and repair deadlines as well as to add additional business which would generate increased revenues for the many subcontractors that rely on and service the Maritime industry.
He also noted that the fact that other states along the eastern seaboard and river systems in Pennsylvania had taken action to address the situation and the considerable cost saving provided facilities in neighboring states had placed the Pennsylvania maritime industry at a competitive disadvantage.
The Senate passed legislation that is now on its way to the governor provided for an exclusion from the definition of employee covered under the state workers’ compensation law if the individual was covered under Longshore or merchant marine. See http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2013&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=2081&pn=3195
UWC has supported federal amendments to the Longshore Act to address the dual jurisdiction issue and also supports action by individual states.
