Wisconsin law extends COVID-19 coverage to first responders

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed into law on Thursday a bill that expands workers compensation coverage for COVID-19 to first responders.

The law addresses a range of topics, including state funding and discrimination based on COVID-19 infection. It authorizes workers compensation benefits to regularly public-facing first responders who are diagnosed with COVID-19 that is acquired during the current state of emergency and presumed to have been caused by the individual’s employment. However, the injury may be rebutted by specific evidence that the coronavirus exposure occurred outside of the first responder’s work.

H.B. 1038 unanimously passed in the Wisconsin Senate Thursday after passing in the House on Wednesday by a vote of 97-2.

The law applies retroactively to March 12, the first day of the declared public health emergency.

More insurance and risk management news on the coronavirus crisis here.