Keller Foundation/case Fndn v. Joseph Tracy

Joseph Tracy appeals the Benefits Review Board’s determination that injuries he incurred in part during his employment by Global International Offshore Ltd. from 1998 to 2002 were not covered under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (referred to as LHWCA, or the Act). Because we hold that no portion of Tracy’s employment during this period satisfied the Act’s status and situs tests, we affirm.

I

The LHWCA provides workers’ compensation coverage for maritime employees engaged in longshoring and harbor work and similar operations. The question in this case is whether Tracy qualified for coverage under the Act during the period in which he worked for Global, his last employer. This question is crucial for Global because of the “last employer rule,” which determines which employer is liable for compensating an employee covered under the Act. Under this rule, even if the claimant suffered an injury while working for a prior employer, if a “subsequent injury aggravated, accelerated or combined with claimant’s prior injury, thus resulting in claimant’s disability,” the subsequent employer is responsible for the full amount of the compensatory award. Found.…