Workers’ Compensation · Primary-source case analysis

Schwalb: Maintaining Equipment Essential to Loading Cargo Was Maritime Employment

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published August 21, 2026

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. v. Schwalb consolidated injuries to workers who maintained or cleaned conveyor and loading equipment at terminals where coal moved from railcars to ships.

Integral loading work satisfied maritime status

Employees need not touch cargo personally when their regular duties are essential to keeping the loading process operating.

Maintenance and cleanup were not merely incidental

The loading operation could not continue safely without repairing the machinery and removing accumulated coal, so the work was part of the maritime process.

Coverage made the Longshore remedy exclusive

For employees covered by the Act, the federal compensation remedy displaced the negligence claim asserted under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act.

Situs and present duties still require proof

Schwalb does not cover every repair or janitorial employee near a waterfront. Facility function, regular tasks, injury location, exclusions, and current circuit law remain material.

Key takeaways

• Map the equipment’s role in vessel loading or unloading.
• Explain whether operations stop without the employee’s work.
• Establish the statutory waterfront situs independently.
• Analyze exclusivity before pursuing a competing negligence remedy.