For a work injury to be covered by workers compensation, both the injured employee and the employer must be subject to Wisconsin’s Worker’s Compensation Act, chapter 102 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Then benefits for missed time, temporary total disability, and permanent injury, permanent partial or total disability benefits are payable.
Wis. Stats. Sec. 102.04 lists those employers covered under the workers compensation law in Wisconsin, here is a partial listing:
The State of Wisconsin and every county, city, town, village, school district, sewer district, drainage district, and other public or quasi-public corporation;
Any person (except a farmer) who usually employs three or more employees in one or more trades, businesses, professions, or occupations in one or more locations within Wisconsin;
Any person (except a farmer) who usually employs fewer than three employees, but pays at least $500 in wages in any calendar quarter for services performed in Wisconsin;
A farmer who employs six or more employees on 20 or more days in a calendar year; and
A temporary help agency, for all employees it has placed or leased and for whose services it receives compensation from the leasing employer. See Wis. Stat. Sec. 102.01(2)(f) defining a temporary help agency.
Any employer that has purchased a worker’s compensation insurance policy is also considered an employer covered by workers comp law;
As a general rule, federal government employees, such as postal workers and VA employees are not covered under Wisconsin workers compensation, but have a separate federal system.
An employer subject to the Act must either purchase a worker’s compensation insurance policy or receive an exemption from the Department of Workforce Development. Wis. Stat. Sec. 102.28(2). The insurance must cover all employees. All workers comp insurance policies are subject to Wis. Stats. Ch. 102, and any inconsistent provisions are void. Wis. Stat. Sec. 102.31(1)(a).
Covered employers that fail to self-insure or insure properly are subject to penalties. If an employer that is required to insure fails to do so, the usual statutory exemptions from postjudgment seizure do not apply; in the case of a corporation that fails to insure, its officers and directors may be personally liable. Wis. Stat. Sec. 102.28(5).
If an employer fails to insure, Wisconsin has a state uninsured employers fund (UEF) to pay for claims. See Wis. Stat. Sec. 102.80. Uninsured employers are required to reimburse the UEF and are also subject to fines for doing business without insurance. Wis. Stat. Sec. 102.82.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin McCormick Law Office attorneys help injured workers with herniated discs in their neck or low back determine if they and their employer are subject to the Wisconsin workers compensation law resulting in workers compensation benefits.
