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The Jones Act (aka Merchant Marine Act) is a United States
Federal statute that requires U.S.-flagged vessels to be
built in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and
documented under the laws of the United States. Documented
means "registered, enrolled, or licensed under the
laws of the United States." In addition, all officers
and 75% of the crew must be U.S. citizens. Vessels that
satisfy these requirements comprise the "Jones Act
fleet".
The Jones Act also allows injured sailors to obtain damages
from their employers for the negligence of the shipowner,
the captain, or fellow members of the crew. It operates
simply, by extending similar legislation already in place
that allowed for recoveries by railroad workers and providing
that this legislation also applies to sailors. Its operative
provision is found at 46 U.S.C. 688(a), which provides:
Any seaman who shall suffer personal injury in the course
of his employment may, at his election, maintain an action
for damages at law, with the right to trial by jury, and
in such action all statutes of the United States modifying
or extending the common-law right or remedy in cases of
personal injury to railway employees shall apply. . . .
The Act was enacted in 1920. The chief statute that it extends
to sailors is the Federal Employers Liability Act, also
known as FELA.
Like other workers' compensation statutes, the Jones Act
entitles injured sailors to what the Act calls "transportation,
wages, maintenance and cure:" the employer or shipowner
must get the sailor home, pay him wages while unable to
work, and provide medical care for his injuries until the
sailor has recovered all he will be able to. If the sailor's
injuries are the result of negligence, whether by the employer,
captain, or another crew member, the sailor may be able
to obtain damages for pain and suffering from the employer
or shipowner as well.
The United States Supreme Court, in the case of Chandris,
Inc., v. Latsis, 515 U.S. 347, 115 S.Ct. 2172 (1995), has
ruled that any worker who spends more than thirty percent
of his time in the service of a vessel on navigable waters
qualifies as a seaman under the Jones Act. An action under
the Jones Act may be brought either in a U.S. federal court
or in a state court.
The Jones Act should not be confused with the Longshoremen's
and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, which is a Federal
statute that defines the workers' compensation rights of
dockside employees whose work affects shipping upon navigable
waters. The Death on the High Seas Act governs remedies
for the surviving kin of sailors who die on the job.
