--- title: SB 321. Workers' Compensation; chapter shall not apply to employees of an employer covered by and providing coverage under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. Section 901; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb321 cite_as: SB 321, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb321 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb321.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb321/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71112 date: 2025-03-04 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb320.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb322.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 95 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb321.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 321 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-03-03 last_action: Senate Read and Referred sponsors: - Mike Hodges - Steve Gooch - Billy Hickman - Ben Watson - John Albers - Randy Robertson text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB321/2025 upstream_id: 1990309 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - workers' compensation - maritime workers - labor law - employer coverage --- # SB 321. Workers' Compensation; chapter shall not apply to employees of an employer covered by and providing coverage under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. Section 901; provide ## Text Senate Bill 321 By: Senators Hodges of the 3rd, Gooch of the 51st, Hickman of the 4th, Watson of the 1st, Albers of the 56th and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 34-9-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to applicability of workers' compensation to employers and employees generally, so as to provide that the chapter shall not apply to employees of an employer covered by and providing coverage under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. Section 901, et seq., as amended, and its extensions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Code Section 34-9-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to applicability of workers' compensation to employers and employees generally, is amended by adding a new subsection to read as follows: "(g) This chapter shall not apply to employees of an employer covered by and providing coverage under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. Section 901, et seq., as amended, and its extensions." SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia Senate bill would exempt employers from state workers' compensation law for employees who are already covered under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. ### Plain-language summary Georgia's workers' compensation law (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-2) currently sets out which employers and employees the state system covers. This bill adds a new subsection saying the state chapter will not apply to employees whose employer is covered by, and provides coverage under, the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. Section 901 and related provisions). The federal law covers certain maritime workers, such as those working on docks, in shipyards, or at harbors. By adding this carve-out, the bill would prevent overlap between the state and federal systems for those specific workers, meaning employers who already provide the federal coverage would not also have to comply with Georgia's workers' compensation chapter for those employees. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not state a specific effective date beyond standard enactment. ### What it does - Adds a new subsection (g) to Georgia's workers' compensation law (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-2) creating an exemption for certain employers. - Exempts employees from Georgia's workers' compensation chapter if their employer is covered by and provides coverage under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. - Applies the exemption to the federal law as amended and to its extensions, meaning future changes to that federal law would carry over. - Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with this new exemption. ### Who it affects Employers in Georgia's maritime and harbor-related industries, such as shipyards, docks, and harbor facilities, who already provide coverage under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, along with their employees who would no longer be covered under the state workers' compensation system for those jobs. ### Why it matters Workers whose employers already carry federal longshore coverage would rely solely on the federal system rather than Georgia's state workers' compensation system for injury claims, changing which set of rules, benefits, and procedures applies if they are hurt on the job. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 34-9-2 by adding subsection (g), which states the state workers' compensation chapter does not apply to employees whose employer is covered by and provides coverage under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. - The exemption explicitly includes the federal law 'as amended, and its extensions,' meaning it tracks future changes to the federal statute. - Section 2 repeals all state laws and parts of laws that conflict with this new exemption. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-03-03) - Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-03-04) - Sponsors: Mike Hodges, Steve Gooch, Billy Hickman, Ben Watson, John Albers, Randy Robertson - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71112 > The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb321.md?full=1