Title 33, Navigation and Navigable WatersRelease 119-102
§904 Liability for Compensation
Title 33 › CHAPTER 18 — LONGSHORE AND HARBOR WORKERS’ COMPENSATION › § 904
Summary
Employers must pay and make sure their workers get the benefits listed in sections 907, 908, and 909. If a subcontractor fails to arrange payment, the contractor must do it unless the contractor already provided insurance for the subcontractor; benefits are paid even if no one was at fault.
Full Legal Text
Title 33, §904
Navigation and Navigable Waters, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Every employer shall be liable for and shall secure the payment to his employees of the compensation payable under section 907, 908, and 909 of this title. In the case of an employer who is a subcontractor, only if such subcontractor fails to secure the payment of compensation shall the contractor be liable for and be required to secure the payment of compensation. A subcontractor shall not be deemed to have failed to secure the payment of compensation if the contractor has provided insurance for such compensation for the benefit of the subcontractor.
(b)Compensation shall be payable irrespective of fault as a cause for the injury.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–426 amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: “Every employer shall be liable for and shall secure the payment to his employees of the compensation payable under section 907, 908, and 909 of this title. In the case of an employer who is a subcontractor, the contractor shall be liable for and shall secure the payment of such compensation to employees of the subcontractor unless the subcontractor has secured such payment.”
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1984 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 98–426 effective Sept. 28, 1984, and applicable both with respect to claims filed after Sept. 28, 1984, and to claims pending on that date, see section 28(a) of Pub. L. 98–426, set out as a note under section 901 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
33 U.S.C. § 904
Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102