Page 24: of Marine News Magazine (July 2017)

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COLUMN LEGAL

For Payroll Purposes, is Your Seaman Really a Seaman?

For operational purposes, it is critical to know what type of employees you have on your vessel.

Failure to do so could be expensive.

By Larry DeMarcay

As vessel operators, we pay close at- man.” So, it would be reasonable to assume that any seamen tention the provisions of the Jones Act working aboard your vessel, as determined by maritime law, and how they affect the operation, would be exempt from the maximum hour requirements of crewing and administration of our ma- the FLSA. But, the determination is not that clear.

rine-based operations. A determination The FLSA’s de