Maintenance and Cure is the Maritime equitable doctrine that was promulgated to protect a seaman from being abandoned by his vessel after disability or injury. It is roughly the equivalent of worker’s compensation for land workers. And the notion of unearned wages under the Maintenance and Cure doctrine is a major component of what a seaman is entitled to after disability or injury, so understanding its significance can be a deal breaker if you are ever in that position.
In general, when a seaman is injured during his employment on a ship, the ship operator is liable not only for the seaman’s maintenance and cure, but also for lost wages. A seaman is entitled to unearned wages under maritime law specifically until the scheduled end of his or her voyage or term of employment. Even if an employer doesn’t include a provision in a contract concerning unearned wages, and for that matter, maintenance and cure, both rights are valid to the seamen. In other words, your right to unearned wages cannot be contracted away.
It is important to remember that the recovery of unearned wages is separate and distinct from the recovery of maintenance expenses or cure expenses. A seaman is entitled to all three recoveries, regardless of his negligence, provided that the seaman has not acted with intentional misconduct.
Many questions have arisen in litigation involving what is exactly included in the computation of unearned wages. Judges have held that as long as a seaman can show that overtime pay was a “common expectation” of the crew, the seaman can include overtime in the computation of unearned wages, reasoning that the seaman was “entitled to recover, in full, the compensation that he would have earned but for his illness or injury.” Courts have also held that benefits such as tip income and vacation are includable in unearned wages in order to place the seaman in the position that he would have been had he continued to work.
And if you have as Collective Bargaining Agreement, be sure to check it out, because although not always binding, Courts have held that the agreements can and may limit the computation of unearned wages as long as the collective bargaining agreement is “legitimately negotiated and the seamen’s interests are adequately represented.”
Lastly and unfortunately, unearned wages are not payable on the Great Lakes, or for domestic voyages between states.
If you have been injured or fallen ill while working on or near the water and have suffered from loss of wages as a result, contact the maritime attorneys of O’Bryan Law today.
