Labor Tension in WI

Madison, WI (WorkersCompensation.com) – There seems to be some negative energy brewing in the Wisconsin labor world.

Gov. Scott Walker proposed that the government should oversee workers’ compensation disputes to the Legislature’s finance committee, according to an Insurance Journal report. Also with AB 308, tensions are a little high.  

“The finance committee is a key testing ground for the budget. Its changes to Walker’s two-year, $76 billion proposed budget will solidify the spending plan for full Senate and Assembly votes. The full Legislature rarely makes changes to what the committee submits,” said Walker in the Insurance Journal.

Simultaneously, Rep. John Spiros (R-Marshfield) is looking to limit union membership on the workers’ compensation council. According to Wisconsin Public Radio, a division of NPR, the representative feels the time is up for union members to speak regarding workers’ compensation.

Spiros, who has not yet responded to WorkersCompensation.com requests for comment, said “labor should have less of a say on the council because union membership in Wisconsin is shrinking,” according to a WPR report.

As it stands now, the council consists of a chairperson, five employee representatives, five businesses and, “as nonvoting members, three representatives of workers’ compensation insurers authorized to do business in this state,” according to the bill.

In AB 308, “Walker’s budget would eliminate the commission and its 26.5 positions in January to save an estimated $5.1 million. Its work would be handled by the Department of Workforce Development and the Department of Administration’s Division of Hearings and Appeals — both Walker cabinet agencies.”

According to the Insurance Journal, “The Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates that about 1,000 additional cases could end up in court annually if the commission disappears. Only 88 commission cases went to court in 2016.”

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