Dana Roberts, Petitioner v. Sea-land Services, Inc., et al. (566 U.S. 93)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 20, 2012 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 566 U.S. 93 · 132 S. Ct. 1350
- Decided
- March 20, 2012
- Term
- October Term 2011
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority author
- Justice Sotomayor
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the Court. The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA or Act), ch. 509, 44 Stat. 1424, as amended, 33 U. S. C. § 901 et seq., caps benefits for most types of disability at twice the national average weekly wage for the fiscal year in which an injured employee is “newly awarded compensation.” § 906(c). We hold that an employee is “newly awarded compensation” when he first becomes disabled and thereby becomes statutorily entitled to benefits, no matter whether, or when, a compensation order issues on his behalf. I A The LHWCA “is a comprehensive scheme to provide compensation ‘in respect of disability or death of an employee ... if the disability or death results from an injury occurring upon the navigable waters of the United States.’ ” Metropolitan Stevedore Co. v. Rambo, 515 U. S. 291, 294 (1995) (quoting § 903(a)); An employee’s compensation depends on the severity of his disability and his preinjury pay. A totally disabled employee, for example, is entitled to two-thirds of his preinjury average weekly wage as long as he remains disabled. • §§ 908(a)-(b), 910. Section 906, however, sets a cap on compensation. Disability benefits, “shall not exceed” twice “the applicable national average weekly wage.” § 906(b)(1). The national average weekly wage — “the national average weekly earnings of production or nonsupervisory…
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