Wisconsin Workers’ Compensation
Law Blog

When I began representing injured workers at a labor law firm in the 1970s, over one-third of the workforce was unionized. Almost all the workers I represented earned the maximum amount allowable to trigger the maximum workers' compensation benefit in the event they...

As we in Wisconsin wrestle with Governor Walker's ill-advised proposal to split up an efficient and time-honored workers' compensation system (for alleged purposes of "efficiency"), it is instructive to reflect on the legislative proposals during the first quarter of...

Wisconsin is not alone. While Wisconsin is facing a proposed dismantling of the basic structure of its incredibly efficient worker's compensation program, based on the Governor's Budget proposal, the workers in Illinois are also facing major legislative problems. As...

My business-owning friends harp constantly about "entitlements," which, they say, cost them money in taxes and premiums. I routinely reply that these programs are a social safety net, the small price we pay to live together relatively peacefully in a "civilized"...

Representing injured workers in Wisconsin is a challenge; representing undocumented workers presents some additional obstacles. Many undocumented workers toil in extremely hazardous jobs resulting in injuries. While federal law clearly bars their employment, the real...

I joined a national organization of lawyers representing injured workers (the Work Injury Law and Advocacy Group) twenty years ago when it was first formed. Then, I heard horror stories about legislators messing with an otherwise stable workers' compensation system...

Those of us who represent injured workers have known for a long time that workers' compensation does not restore an injured worker to his pre-injury wage or status. Two reports released in March show how workplace injuries have failed injured workers and leave them...

Proving that repetitive stress injuries are work-related and result from unique occupational risks can be challenging for injured Wisconsin workers. A repetitive stress injury occurs when a joint becomes strained from performing a repeated physical motion. Many...

Wisconsin's worker's compensation system-established in 1911 and part of the "Wisconsin Idea" in politics-has been in place longer than any other in the country and is the envy of other states. The Governor's Budget Bill (2015 SB 21) proposes major changes to the...

Today, from Dee Hall at the Wisconsin State Journal: "Changes Coming to Worker's Compensation System?" : Labor representatives and attorneys say they are concerned about a report that Gov. Scott Walker's two-year budget plan will call for "drastic" changes in...