An important decision affecting vicarious liability for Jones Act employers for the acts of their employees was issued August 14, 2012 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision, an action against Hercules Drilling Company represented by LeBlanc Bland, P.L.L.C. with offices in New Orleans and Houston, reverses the Eastern District of Louisiana’s earlier ruling, has significant implications for employers in the maritime industry, confirming the test for course and scope of employment for Jones Act employees. The decision results from a tragic case (Amanda Beech v. Hercules Drilling Company, LLC., No. 11-30415) in which an employee of Hercules Drilling Company, in violation of company policy, unintentionally brought a firearm to his job aboard a jack-up drilling rig.