46 CFR 12.805: Employer duties for nonimmigrant large passenger vessel crew

(a) The employer must submit the following to the Coast Guard, as a part of the applicant's MMC application, on behalf of the applicant:

(1) A signed report that contains all material disciplinary actions related to the applicant, such as, but not limited to, violence or assault, theft, drug and alcohol policy violations, and sexual harassment, along with an explanation of the criteria used by the employer to determine the materiality of those actions.

(2) A signed report regarding an employer-conducted background check. The report must contain—

(i) A statement that the applicant has successfully undergone an employer-conducted background check;

(ii) A description of the employer-conducted background check, including all databases and records searched. The background check must, at a minimum, show that the employer has reviewed all information reasonably and legally available to the owner or managing operator, including the review of available court and police records in the applicant's country of citizenship, and any other country in which the applicant has received employment referrals, or resided, for the past 20 years prior to the date of application; and

(iii) All information derived from the employer-conducted background check.

(3) An employer-conducted background check, which must be conducted to the satisfaction of the Coast Guard for an MMC to be issued to the applicant.

(b) If an MMC is issued to the applicant, the report and information required in paragraph (a)(2) of this section must be securely kept by the employer on the U.S.-flagged large passenger vessel on which the applicant is employed. The report and information must remain on the last U.S.-flagged large passenger vessel on which the applicant was employed until such time as the MMC is returned to the Coast Guard in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section.

(c) If an MMC or a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) is issued to the applicant, each MMC and TWIC must be securely kept by the employer on the U.S.-flagged large passenger vessel on which the applicant is employed. The employer must maintain a detailed record of the seafarer's total service on all authorized U.S.-flagged large passenger vessels, and must make that information available to the Coast Guard upon request, to demonstrate that the limitations of § 12.811(c) have not been exceeded.

(d) In the event that the seafarer's MMC and/or TWIC expires, the seafarer's visa status terminates, the seafarer serves onboard the U.S.-flagged large passenger vessel(s) for 36 months in the aggregate as a nonimmigrant crewmember, the employer terminates employment of the seafarer, or if the seafarer otherwise ceases working with the employer, the employer must return the MMC to the Coast Guard and/or the TWIC to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) within 10 days of the event.

(e) In addition to the initial material disciplinary actions report and the initial employer-conducted background check specified in paragraph (a) of this section, the employer must—

(1) Submit to the National Maritime Center an annual material disciplinary actions report to update whether there have been any material disciplinary actions related to the applicant since the last material disciplinary actions report was submitted to the Coast Guard. The annual material disciplinary actions report must—

(i) Be submitted to the satisfaction of the Coast Guard in accordance with the same criteria set forth in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, except that the period of time examined for the material disciplinary actions report need only extend back to the date of the last material disciplinary actions report; and

(ii) Be submitted to the Coast Guard on or before the anniversary of the issuance date of the MMC; and

(2) Conduct a background check each year that the MMC is valid to search for any changes that might have occurred since the last employer-conducted background check was performed. The annual background check must—

(i) Be conducted to the satisfaction of the Coast Guard in accordance with the same criteria set forth in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, except that the period of time examined during the annual background check need only extend back to the date of the last background check; and

(ii) Be submitted to the Coast Guard on or before the anniversary of the issuance date of the MMC.

(f) The employer is subject to the civil penalty provisions specified in 46 U.S.C. 8103(f) for any violation of this section.