Recreational Marine Employment Act of 2005

H.R. 940, the Recreational Marine Employment Act of 2005, proposes to change which workers are covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA), a federal program that provides medical benefits and wage replacement to maritime employees injured on the job. The bill would specifically exempt individuals who work at recreational marine facilities or those who build, repair, and maintain pleasure boats from this federal coverage.

The practical impact of this change is that these employees would no longer be eligible for federal maritime workers' compensation and would instead be covered by their respective state’s workers' compensation systems. For business owners in the recreational boating industry, this shift is intended to lower insurance costs, as state-level premiums are typically less expensive than federal maritime insurance. However, for the workers involved, it would mean their injury claims and benefit levels would be determined by state laws rather than federal standards.