Opinion ID: 1916938
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act

Text: Since 1928, workmen's compensation for the District of Columbia has been governed by the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 901 et seq. (1976) (Longshoremen's Act). In 1927, in response to the continuing concern about compensation for maritime workers injured on navigable waters, Congress enacted the Longshoremen's Act, a modern and reasonable workmen's compensation law for certain local maritime workers who are injured while loading or unloading or repairing vessels at the dock  provided their injury occurs while on board the vessel. S.Rep.No.852, 70th Cong., 1st Sess. 1 (1928). The Longshoremen's Act vests the responsibility for the administration of the workmen's compensation program in the United States Secretary of Labor. 33 U.S.C. § 939 (1976). The administrative procedure provided by the Act consists of a three-tier system. At the first stage, a deputy commissioner issues a recommendation as to whether the workmen's compensation claim should be paid. Id., § 919(a)(c). At this point, either party may request a formal hearing before a Department of Labor administrative law judge. Id., § 919(d) (Supp. III 1979). Review of the administrative law judge's formal order is provided by the Benefits Review Board. Id., § 921(b) (1976, Supp. III 1979). Persons adversely affected by the final order of the Benefits Review Board may appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the circuit in which the injury occurred. Id., § 921(c) (1976). In the event that an employer fails to comply with a compensation award, the beneficiary of the award or the deputy commissioner making the order may seek enforcement in the Federal district court for the judicial district in which the injury occurred. Id., § 921(d) (1976). Although public employees of the District of Columbia government were protected by a federal workmen's compensation program at the time of the passage of the Longshoremen's Act, see 5 U.S.C. § 8139 (1976), no similar program existed for their counterparts in the local private sector. Between 1921 and 1926, several bills creating workmen's compensation programs for private employees in the District of Columbia were introduced in Congress. However, disagreements over the system of insurance and the plan of administration led to a legislative deadlock. S.Rep.No.852, 70th Cong., 1st Sess. 1 (1928). Recognizing that the Longshoremen's Act provided a solution to its inability to agree on a program to cover private employees in the District of Columbia, see generally id., at 2; H.R.Rep. No.859, 69th Cong., 1st Sess. 1 (1926), Congress passed a workmen's compensation law for the District of Columbia, Act of May 17, 1928, ch. 612, § 1-3, 45 Stat. 600 (1928) (Workmen's Compensation Act of 1928) (codified at D.C.Code 1973, §§ 36-501, -502), which extended the provisions of the federal statute to cover the private employment sector. Section 36-501 provided in pertinent part: The provisions of chapter 18 of title 33, U.S.Code, including all amendments that may hereafter be made thereto, shall apply in respect to the injury or death of an employee of an employer carrying on any employment in the District of Columbia, irrespective of the place where the injury or death occurs.... This section incorporated both the substantive and procedural provisions of the Longshoremen's Act. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. National Van Lines, Inc., 198 U.S.App.D.C. 239, 246, 613 F.2d 972, 979 (1979), cert. denied, 448 U.S. 907, 100 S.Ct. 3049, 65 L.Ed.2d 1136 (1980).