38 FOGHORN S pring is a time when many PVA vessel members begin the process of staffing up for the busy operat- ing season. Among the many onboard- ing actions, there are critical verifica- tions that must be done when hiring mariners and other individuals to work on U.S. Coast Guard-certificated ves- sels. Marine employers are responsible for ensuring that the mariners they em- ploy on their vessels are legally allowed, competent, medically fit for duty, and not violators of federal drug laws. Ad- dressing the below requirements can quickly weed out individuals who for one reason or another are not able to be employed or fit for duty. None of these actions run afoul of legal, privacy, or HIPA restrictions. LEGALLY ALLOWED TO WORK Hiring Foreign Workers In the past, foreign workers with visas allowing work in the U.S. have been employed by marine employers both shore side and on-board vessels. For reasons explained below a marine employer must only employ U.S. cit- izens or legally admitted permanent resident aliens (i.e., green card holder) to work on-board U.S. certificated small passenger vessels. It does not matter if the position is considered safety sensitive or not. Title 46 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 8103 states that only a U.S. citizen may serve as master, chief engineer, radio officer, or officer in charge of a deck watch or engineering watch on a documented vessel. The law goes on to state that each unlicensed seaman must be a citizen of the U.S. or alien lawfully admitted to the U.S. for per- manent residence. Additionally, not more than 25 per- cent of the total number of unlicensed seamen on the vessel may be aliens lawfully admitted to the U.S. for per- manent residence (green card holders). So, who is considered a seaman? The Coast Guard Marine Safety Man- ual, Vol. III, Commandant Instruc- tion (COMDTINST) M16000.8B, defines “seaman” as “…any individual engaged or employed in the business of a ship or a person whose efforts contribute to accomplishing the ship’s business, whether that person is in- volved with operation of the vessel.” Further, the Coast Guard states, “A crewmember may be a seaman al- though he or she is not occupying a position required by the certificate of inspection or other safe manning documentation.” So, non-marine crew are included? Yes. Referring to the COMDTINST: “Under normal conditions, the Coast Guard does not consider a person who is briefly visiting the vessel in a consulting capacity (e.g., a vendor’s technical repre- sentative) to be a crewmember. Similarly, the Coast Guard does not apply citizenship require- ments to shoreside personnel who come on board vessels while they are not underway to load or unload cargo or to perform services such as maintenance of shipboard equipment. Howev- er, under most circumstances, individuals being compensated for performing their jobs while the vessel is underway are con- sidered seamen for the purpose of applying citizenship require- ments. Waiters, entertainers, in- dustrial personnel, oil recovery workers, riding maintenance crews, and others employed in the business of the vessel are considered seamen.” As an example, if a vessel is required a master and two unlicensed crew on the certificate of inspection, then that crew complement would be all U.S. citizens. If the vessel was required to have a master and eight unlicensed crew, then up to two (25 percent) of the unlicensed crew could be green card-holding resident aliens. VERIFYING MERCHANT MARINER CREDENTIALS AND MEDICAL CERTIFICATES When presented with a merchant mariner credential (MMC) from a prospective or current employee, ma- rine employers have access to an online verification tool located on the Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center ERIC CHRISTENSEN // PVA DIRECTOR OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS & RISK MANAGEMENT SAFETY MATTERS Bring on the New Hires (and Seasonal Employees) SAFETY
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