By: Sally A. Piefer

Yesterday afternoon, the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) notified its members that Governor Evers plans to release the names of more than 1,000 businesses who have had 2 or more employees test positive for COVID-19. The release is reportedly scheduled to occur tomorrow, Friday, October 2, 2020.

During the summer, Governor Evers said publicly that his administration would not release business names where employees tested positive for COVID because it was “information that’s not public.” In addition, during a September press event, Governor Evers is reported to have acknowledged that releasing the information could pose privacy issues.

The WMC has been regularly urging the Governor to keep this information confidential. WMC retained legal counsel who wrote a letter to the Governor in July 2020 describing the legal implications of releasing the names of businesses who had COVID-positive cases among its employee ranks. WMC says that it reached out again to the Governor’s office yesterday, but received no response before it alerted its membership of the impending information release.

We will continue to provide updated information as it becomes available.

If you have questions, please contact Sally Piefer or your normal Lindner & Marsack attorney.