Department of Labor October 15, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) is republishing the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking entitled Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act: Recreational Vessels, published on August 17, 2010 (75 FR 50718), and affording the public an additional period for submitting comments. This document contains proposed regulations implementing amendments to the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), relating to the exclusion of certain recreational- vessel workers from the LHWCA's definition of ``employee.'' These regulations would clarify both the definition of ``recreational vessel'' and those circumstances under which workers are excluded from LHWCA coverage when working on those vessels. The proposed rules also codify the Department's longstanding view that employees are covered under the LHWCA so long as some of their work constitutes ``maritime employment'' within the meaning of the statute.