A powerful panel of lawmakers is close to voting on whether the state will continue requiring court reporters to be present at workers’ compensation proceedings.

Earlier this month, state Rep. John Spiros, R-Marshfield, released a misleading opinion piece on a bill aimed at overhauling Wisconsin's workers' compensation system.

Wisconsin’s lawmakers are considering a state-budget provision that would dismantle the current law and turn workers' comp into a political hot potato.

An attorney left paralyzed during a motorcycle crash that occurred when he was traveling with clients is not eligible for workers' compensation benefits, since he was not technically working when he crashed, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

If a Rock County snowplow driver jars his spine on the job and collects more than $148,000 in worker’s compensation benefits, does he give up his right to a jury trial in a joint private action against the 3rd party tortfeasor?

2012AP273 Petrovic v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, et al.

2012AP973 Hooper Corp., et al. v. Labor & Industry Review Commission, et al.

2011AP2532 Mofoco Enterprises Inc. v. Wisconsin State Labor & Industry Review Commission, et al.

2011AP2358 Menard Inc., et al. v. Keene, et al.

2011AP2722 Besse Forest Products Inc. v. Lopez, et al.

2011AP2636 Grede Foundries, Inc., v. LIRC

2010AP208 Aurora Consolidated Health Care v. LIRC

2011AP1824-FT Friedrich v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission, et al.

2011AP2008 City of Appleton Police Department, et al. v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, et al.

2011AP1113 Prent Corp. v. Labor & Industry Review Commission, et al.

2011AP203 Xcel Energy Services, Inc., v. LIRC

2011AP345 M.M. Schranz Roofing, Inc., v. First Choice Temporary

Employment Workers compensation; exclusive remedy

Employment Workers compensation; refusal to rehire

Employment Workers compensation; refusal to rehire

Employment Workers compensation; refusal to rehire The Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) and Randall Cerny appeal from a circuit court order reversing and vacating a LIRC order which held that Open Hearth Homes, LLC, had violated the Wisconsin Worker’s Compensation Act, Wis. Stat. § 102.35(3) (2009-10), by unreasonably refusing to rehire Cerny after he was injured in the course ...

Torts Workers compensation; exclusive remedy Where an employee has already asserted a claim that his injuries are covered by the Worker’s Compensation Act, and he had accepted a benefit under the Act, albeit by compromise, his exclusive remedy is under the Act. “The Martines argue that, while the employer’s liability may be limited to the amount agreed to, he has ...

Torts Defamation; workers compensation The Worker’s Compensation Act is not the exclusive remedy when an employer defames a former employee. “The County also contends Wisconsin courts have applied the exclusive remedy provision to bar claims arising from post-termination injuries other than defamation. The County principally relies on Pederson & Voechting v. Kromrey, 201 Wis. 599, 231 N.W. 267 (1930). There, ...

Employment Workers compensation; independent medical examiners The right to rebut the report of an independent medical examiner does not include the right to cross-examination. “Wis. Stat. § 102.17(1)(g) provides LIRC with the discretion to request an independent medical examiner when ‘the testimony presented at any hearing indicates a dispute or creates a doubt as to the extent or cause of ...

Employment Workers compensation; refusal to rehire This is a worker’s compensation case that presents the issues of whether an employer improperly refused to rehire an injured employee, and whether the Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) used the correct standard for determining the amount of lost wages due the employee. Unified Management Company, LLC, the employer, appeals the judgment ...

Employment Worker’s compensation An in-home caregiver providing services under the long-term support community options waiver program is an employee of the County for worker’s compensation purposes. “‘Where there are two conflicting views of the evidence, each of which may be sustained by substantial evidence, it is for the hearing examiner to determine which view of the evidence it wishes to ...

Employment Worker’s compensation An employer paying the medical expenses of an employee in institutional care can be required to pay the costs of transfer to a residential setting, even if it is not medically necessary. “Bowman asserts there is no conflict between the Department’s authority and an individual’s right to be placed in the least restrictive environment under Wis. Stat. ...