OTHER NEWS - June 13, 1995

Port Workers’ Benefits Can Be Cut, Court Says: In the case of a former Wilmington longshoreman, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that port workers give up their rights to federal disability benefits when they later find more lucrative work. “A disability award may be modified . . . where there is a change in the employee’s wage-earning capacity, even without any change in the employee’s physical condition,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote in an 8-1 ruling against John Rambo, 50. The decision upheld the cancellation of Rambo’s benefits after he obtained a job as a crane operator that paid triple his former earnings as a longshoreman. Attorneys for both sides said the decision applies to about 500,000 maritime laborers involved in international commerce.