The Jones Act and Contract Workers

The Jones Act gives seamen a way to seek compensation if injured in a negligent workplace accident. Workers must be eligible as defined by the law, which does not always include contract workers. If you worked under a contract and were injured in a maritime job, contact a lawyer to find out what your rights and options are.

About the Jones Act

The Jones Act is a law that gives rights to seamen as described by the law and determined by court cases. If you are a seaman, this law gives you the right to sue your employer if you are injured. 

To seek compensation, you must meet all the legal qualifications. You must also prove that your employer’s negligence contributed to your accident.

Getting this compensation can be a significant relief if you are injured, have medical bills, and cannot work for some time. Unfortunately, not all workers will qualify under the Jones Act. Whether or not a contract worker qualifies depends on many factors.

Contract workers are not always included in all the rights that an employee has, but there are exceptions. The Jones Act does provide for independent contractors in some situations. 

Jones Act Seaman Qualifications

The Jones Act is specifically for seamen, not just any kind of maritime worker. Seamen are maritime workers, but you can also be a maritime worker and not qualify as a seaman.

For example, longshoremen are maritime workers but not seamen. Specific factors determine if you qualify as a seaman under the Jones Act.

If you are an independent contractor, you still have to meet the requirements of a seaman as described by the law:

• You must contribute to the working of a vessel.
• You must spend at least 30 percent of your working time aboard that vessel.
• You must have been injured aboard a vessel that is operable and in navigation on navigable waters, such as the ocean, a river, or lakes connecting two or more states.

What Is an Independent Contractor? 

Employers in all industries may turn to independent contractors as a way to save money. Employees working full-time must be given benefits. While there are many benefits to having full-time employees, they are costly.

An employer or ship owner may hire contract workers for shorter periods of time or to get specific jobs completed. Contractors can help the owner save money by not paying for benefits like health insurance.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, what distinguishes an independent contractor from an employee is the degree to which the employer or payer of the worker can direct their work.

In other words, an employer can direct an employee on how exactly to do their job. An independent contractor cannot be directed in that way. They are self-directed. The person paying the contractor can only control the outcome, not the process.

Independent Contractors and the Jones Act

All seamen working as employees who meet the qualifications under the Jones Act are entitled to the rights guaranteed by the law in the case of injury on the job.

Contractors are often included in the Jones Act definition of a seaman, depending on the situation. Someone must employ the contractor, but that employer does not have to be the ship’s owner. The owner of the ship may have contracted the employer to provide workers.

A “borrowed service doctrine” allows contractors to be considered seamen under the Jones Act. The seaman may work aboard a vessel and be employed by an independent contractor rather than the owner of the vessel.

In other words, there has to be an employee-employer relationship, but the employer need not be the owner of the vessel.

If they meet all the qualifications, contractors under the Jones Act can sue the ship owner for compensation for a negligent injury, even though the actual employer is someone else.

Each case is different, though, and the court may decide if a contracted seaman has rights under the Jones Act based on various factors, like how much the ship owner supervised and directed the contractor’s work.

Are Any Contract Workers Excluded by the Jones Act?

Each case is different, and each Jones Act claim has to be considered independently. It is possible for an independent contractor to qualify under the Jones Act. The burden of proof of an employer-employee relationship is on the seaman.

One of the main reasons that a contractor may be excluded under the Jones Act is if they work largely independently on the vessel and do not report to a supervisor or manager for direction. This indicates a contractor style of working as opposed to employment.

If you are an employee aboard a vessel and are injured due to the ship owner’s negligence, navigating the rules of the Jones Act to determine if you have the right to sue for compensation under the law can be challenging.

If you are not an employee, the situation is only murkier. To best assess your qualification and how to prove your status as a working seaman with an employer, you need the expertise of a Jones Act lawyer to guide you through the process.