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The Act was created to provide compensation payable by an
employer to an employee, or the employee's dependents, for disability or death
due to an injury occurring upon the navigable waters or in an adjoining
waterfront area of the United States. The Act provides payment for medical care
required for the injury, disability compensation payments and rehab services.
In the event of death caused by injury or related condition, benefits include
payment for reasonable funeral expenses and compensation payments to spouses
and minor or student children, and sometimes for other eligible dependents.
The extensions of the Act include the Defense Base Act, the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Nonappropriated Funds
Instrumentalities Act. The benefits structure of the Longshore Act applies to
these Acts.
The Defense Base Act provides workers' compensation coverage
on American defense bases, and those working under contracts with the United
States government for defense or public-works projects, outside of the United
States. To be compensated under the Act, a claim must stem from a "contract"
for "public work" overseas, public work constituting government related
construction projects, work connected with national defense, or employment
under a service contract supporting either activity.
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act provides workers'
compensation coverage for the death or disability of an employee resulting from
an injury occurring as a result of operations connected with the exploration,
development, removal, and transportation of natural resources from the seabed
and subsoil of the Outer Continental Shelf (i.e., drilling and production of
offshore oil and gas). The Act applies to all submerged lands (and artificial
islands and fixed structures thereon) which lie beneath navigable waters
seaward of state jurisdictional boundaries, and which are subject to the
jurisdiction and control of the United States.
The Nonappropriated Funds Instrumentalities Act provides
workers' compensation coverage to civilian employees of nonappropriated fund
instrumentalities (such as post exchanges) of the Armed Forces.
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