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The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 is commonly referred to as the Jones Act. It is named after Wesley Jones, the senator who sponsored the bill. The Act governs how goods are transported from one U.S. port to another through U.S. waters on U.S. flag ships owned by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The Jones Act allows seamen to sue their employers. The Jones Act established two specific rights for seamen that are not afforded to them under routine maritime law. First, seamen who serve on ships covered by the Jones Act may sue their employer, the owner of the ship, for damages suffered if they were injured due to the ship owner’s negligence. They may also sue another seaman they believe was negligent. If a seaman is killed as a result of the negligence, a personal representative may sue for wrongful death. A second provision of the Jones Act allows seamen who do sue their employers the right to a trial by jury. Prior to the Jones Act, seamen who were injured or killed during the course of their employment on a ship had no remedy. Who qualifies as a seaman? The initial problem with the Jones Act was that the legislation did not define “seaman.” For many years, whether or not a person suing under the Jones Act qualified as a seaman was often the subject of litigation. Pursuant to a number of court cases and amendments to the legislation, people now qualify as seamen if they meet the following criteria. Seamen must have a substantial connection to a ship in navigation. To have a “substantial connection” as required by the courts, seamen must work at least 30 percent of the time on a vessel that is in navigation. Work on several different vessels that are owned by the same entity also qualifies seamen for Jones Act benefits. Those who work on several different vessels that have several different owners do not qualify as seamen under the Jones Act. The requirement that a ship be in navigation does not mean it has to be in navigation at the time of the incident that gave rise to the injury. It means the ship must spend most of its time in the water and cannot be permanently docked. Seamen must perform work that contributes to the accomplishment of the mission of the vessel or to its function. Still open to litigation in each case is whether or not the plaintiff who is suing the employer qualifies as a Jones Act seaman. Through the years, the definition has expanded to include waiters and chefs from cruise ships as well as other cruise ship personnel. Peter Wendt is a writer, researcher and former oil rig worker from Austin, TX. He is familiar with the Jones Act from his time working on the Gulf Coast and recommends his fellow offshore workers click here if they’ve been injured on the job.
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jones act, maritime law, admiralty law,
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