Seaman's Retaliatory Discharge Claims

Introduction

Under American common law, an employer can terminate his at-will employee for good reason, no good reason at all, and even morally wrong reasons.¹ This rule was not inherited from the English common law. Instead, it originated in this country and is traceable to an American treatise of the late 1800s.² The same rule was extended to seamen whose employment, in the absence of a contract providing for a definite term or voyage during which a seaman will be employed, could be terminated by either party at will.³ Courts in admiralty, however, began carving out exceptions to this rule. As discussed below, presently, a seaman who is employed at will is protected against retaliatory discharge in violation of maritime public policy as defined by the case law and maritime statutes.