Wisconsin Civil Justice Council Scores Early Win in 2021 Legislative Session

On Thursday, February 25, Governor Tony Evers signed 2021 Act 4, legislation including both COVID liability protections and reforms to the state’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) system. The bill cleared the Legislature with widespread support, passing the Senate by 27-3 on February 18 and the Assembly by 89-0 on February 23. Senate President Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield), Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg), Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), and Representative Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam), in particular, championed the liability protections in the Legislature.

The law provides a civil liability exemption from COVID exposure claims for Wisconsin employers, governments, schools, and other entities as well as their employees, agents, and independent contractors. Now, thanks to 2021 Act 4, entities cannot be held liable for ordinary negligence claims associated with a COVID infection; this civil immunity does not apply if an act or omission involves reckless or wanton conduct or intentional misconduct. The immunity applies retroactively to claims accruing on or after March 1, 2020, except for actions filed before the bill took effect on February 27, 2021. A comprehensive COVID-19 response bill vetoed by Gov. Evers in early February included the same liability language.

Act 4 is the result of a special session of the Legislature called by Gov. Evers following his State of the State address in January. Referencing the massive influx of unemployment claims that the state has received since last March, the governor claimed that an “antiquated system” and burdensome rules were the main causes of the resulting backlog of claims and long delays in processing time. The governor called upon the Legislature to convene a special session to take up his proposed changes to the UI system. While the Legislature approved parts of the governor’s proposal, it removed a $5.3 million appropriation for the project and several other provisions, and added the COVID liability reforms pushed for by the WCJC and its partners.