For almost 100 years, the Jones Act has been a vital component of maritime law, protecting the rights and livelihoods of thousands of American maritime workers both offshore and onshore by helping Jones Act lawyers defending the rights of sailors, dockworkers, and more when it comes to issues such as employment and injury compensation.
Of course, any laws that focused on protecting the rights of workers is bound to encounter some opposition from the fat cats and politicians out there, and the Jones Act is no exception. Adding to the list of recent efforts to alter or repeal the Jones Act is an attempt this past summer to add an exemption to the Jones Act involving shipments to and from Puerto Rico.
A large part of the Jones Act requires that any waterborne cargo moving between two points in the United States be transported on ships that are built, owned, and crewed by American citizens. This is done largely to help protect the employment and financial health of American-based shipping companies and the seamen and workers they employ. As a United States territory, Puerto Rico is also covered by the Jones Act, requiring that any shipment headed to them from within the United States be shipped by an entirely-American vessel.
In recent years, the Puerto Rican economy has been in a rough place. The population is declining, tourism is down, and the jobless rate is increasing. To help reduce these economic burdens, the United States government has been trying to pass a series of bills aimed at the Puerto Rican government and economy, including debt forgiveness and methods to reduce expenses for the small island territory – such as nearly passing a Jones Act exemption.
Over the summer, a proposal was raised in the U.S. House of Representatives to make Puerto Rico an exemption to the Jones Act in an attempt to reduce shipping costs. The argument was made by the representative responsible for this proposal that removing the Jones Act requirements for shipping to Puerto Rico would allow the territory to seek out alternate methods of getting needed supplies shipped to their island.
This, of course, would have had a disastrous effect on nearby American shipping businesses. A large portion of shipping traffic from states near Puerto Rico such as Florida would have suffered due to this exemption, and their livelihood and income would have suffered greatly as a result, likely resulting in a drop in employment for maritime workers in Florida and surrounding areas.
Ironically, this would be the exact sort of circumstances that the Jones Act was intended to prevent, and after some research by the U.S. Government Accountability Office it was shown that there is no verifiable link between the Jones Act and the cost of shipping to Puerto Rico, while acknowledging that the high cost of living on the island is due to internal economic and supply issues, not the cost of goods being shipped elsewhere.
Through the years, the Jones Act has weathered hundreds of attacks and attempts to reduce its effectiveness in protecting the rights and financial stability of maritime workers in America, and will sure to endure many more. But as long as the Jones Act is there, maritime lawyers such as O’Bryan Law will be able to defend the rights of maritime workers all over the country.
