I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 436 

To amend the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act to provide 

a definition of recreational vessel for purposes of such Act. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 21, 2015 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. 

DIAZ-BALART, and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act to provide a definition of recreational vessel 

for purposes of such Act. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Longshore and Harbor 

5 Workers’ Compensation Clarification Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF RECREATIONAL VESSEL. 

7 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 2 of the Longshore and 

8 Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 902) is 

9 amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (22) as para2 graph (23); and 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (21) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(22)(A) The term ‘recreational vessel’ means a 

6 vessel— 

7 ‘‘(i) being manufactured or operated pri8 marily for pleasure; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) leased, rented, or chartered to an10 other for the latter’s pleasure. 

11 ‘‘(B) In applying the definition in subparagraph 

12 (A), the following rules apply: 

13 ‘‘(i) A vessel being manufactured or built, 

14 or being repaired under warranty by its manu15 facturer or builder, is a recreational vessel if 

16 the vessel appears intended, based on its design 

17 and construction, to be for ultimate recreational 

18 uses. The manufacturer or builder bears the 

19 burden of establishing that a vessel is rec20 reational under this standard. 

21 ‘‘(ii) A vessel being repaired, dismantled 

22 for repair, or dismantled at the end of its life 

23 will be treated as recreational at the time of re24 pair, dismantling for repair, or dismantling, 

25 provided that such vessel shares elements of deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Jan 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H436.IH H436

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1 sign and construction of traditional recreational 

2 vessels and is not normally engaged in a mili3 tary, commercial, or traditionally commercial 

4 undertaking. 

5 ‘‘(iii) A vessel will be treated as a rec6 reational vessel if it is a public vessel, such as 

7 a vessel owned or chartered and operated by the 

8 United States, or by a State or political subdivi9 sion thereof, at the time of repair, dismantling 

10 for repair, or dismantling, provided that such 

11 vessel shares elements of design and construc12 tion with traditional recreational vessels and is 

13 not normally engaged in a military, commercial, 

14 or traditionally commercial undertaking.’’. 

15 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall 

17 revise the regulations in section 701.501 of title 20, Code 

18 of Federal Regulations, by deleting the text of subsections 

19 (a) and (b) of such section and replacing it with only the 

20 text of the definition of recreational vessel in section 2(22) 

21 of the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, 

22 as added by subsection (a). 

Æ 


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