TITLE 33 > CHAPTER 18 > § 904

 
                NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
 
         CHAPTER 18--LONGSHORE AND HARBOR WORKERS' COMPENSATION
 
Sec. 904. Liability for compensation

    (a) Every employer shall be liable for and shall secure the payment 
to his employees of the compensation payable under sections 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.

(Mar. 4, 1927, ch. 509, Sec. 4, 44 Stat. 1426; Pub. L. 98-426, 
Sec. 4(a), Sept. 28, 1984, 98 Stat. 1641.)


                               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 sections 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.''


                    Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

    Amendment 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.