Question: What is the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA)?

Answer: The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, provides medical benefits, compensation for lost wages, and rehabilitation services to longshoremen, harbor workers, and other maritime workers who are injured during the course of employment or suffer from diseases caused or worsened by conditions of employment. Several other statutes extend the provisions of the Act to cover other classes of private-industry workers. These include workers engaged in the extraction of natural resources of the outer continental shelf, employees on American defense bases, and those working under contracts with the U.S. government for defense or public-works projects, outside of the continental United States.