The legal test used to determine “seaman” status is the same regardless of whether a claim is brought under Jones Act negligence, unseaworthiness, or maintenance and cure.207 In fact, it is permissible, and quite common, for seamen to combine the three remedies in one cause of action.208
The leading case dealing with seaman status is McDermott Int'l, Inc. v. Wilander.209 In Wilander, the Supreme Court asserted that:
[t]he key to seaman status is an employment-related connection to a vessel in navigation. We are not called upon here to define this connection in all details, but we hold that a necessary element of the connection is that a seaman perform the work of a vessel. In this regard, we believe that the requirement that an employee's duties must “contribut[e] to the function of the vessel or to the accomplishment of its mission” captures well an important requirement of seaman status. It is not necessary that a seaman aid in navigation or contribute to the transportation of the vessel, but a seaman must be doing the ship's work.210
By requiring that a worker merely contribute to the overall mission or function of the vessel rather than to its more specific transportation function, Wilander disapproved of the tests used in the majority of circuits and significantly increased the number *486 of workers that may be granted seaman status.211 For example, it is now clear in the wake of Wilander that bartenders, waitresses, cooks, dealers, security guards and other employees who perform a substantial portion of their work aboard a gaming vessel in navigation will be granted seaman status.212 Although Wilander liberalized the kinds of work that qualify for seaman status, it did not address the test for determining whether a floating structure is a “vessel in navigation.” This vessel requirement remains an essential component of seaman status and has been the subject of considerable litigation in the lower federal courts.213 Most of these cases have involved the question of whether a particular floating structure is a “vessel in navigation” for purposes of seaman status under the Jones Act.214