TUE AM News: Evers signs into law changes to worker’s comp in Wisconsin; Wanggaard accuses Evers, Dems of siding “with thieves over employers” after veto

March 31, 2026

— Gov. Tony Evers has signed into law dozens of changes to worker’s compensation in the state, from expanding PTSD coverage for some first responders to boosting certain disability benefit rates.

The Dem guv yesterday signed AB 651 at the Wisconsin State Council of Machinists Annual Conference, his office announced. The legislation was developed with recommendations from the Workers Compensation Advisory Council, the release notes.

In a statement on the bill signing, Evers noted the state’s “proud history” of ensuring workers are treated with dignity and respect.

“Today, we’re proving that we’re more committed to that legacy than ever, and I want to thank all the bipartisan partners for their support and advocacy to come to good faith agreements and get this done,” he said.

The newly enacted law includes various changes to claims and payments under the state’s worker’s comp system, such as boosting the maximum weekly compensation rate for permanent partial disability from $446 to $454 for injuries before Jan. 1, 2027, and to $462 for injuries on or after that date.

It also expands the list of injuries for which there’s no statute of limitations on bringing claims under worker’s compensation, adding traumatic injuries that cause the need for a shoulder replacement or reverse shoulder replacement.

Another provision bars health care providers from restricting an employer’s or insurer’s case management personnel from accessing records or participating in discharge planning for an injured worker that’s been hospitalized.

Yet another provision extends worker’s comp PTSD coverage eligibility to emergency medical responders, emergency medical services practitioners, and volunteer or part-time firefighters, using the same standards currently in place for full-time firefighters and law enforcement.

Sen. Andre Jacque, R-New Franken, touted the law’s passage, noting he proposed the extended PTSD coverage at the start of the session before it was wrapped into the broader WCAC package.

“Extending PTSD coverage is an issue of fairness,” Jacque said yesterday in a statement. “Community heroes who have given so much of themselves and need healing because of their service deserve our support, and I am excited to see this critical care extended to those to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude.”

Other elements of the new law relate to penalties for uninsured employers, application and premium fraud, the hearing and dispute resolution process for claims under the program, and more.

Evers also issued a partial veto for AB 650, removing a provision that would have allowed funds currently used for controlled substance testing and treatment to go toward claimant identity proofing.

The change “preserves the bill’s underlying appropriation structure” for Department of Workforce Development activities and supports the administration of unemployment insurance, he wrote in his veto message.

See the release and bill text.

— Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, is accusing Evers and Dem lawmakers of siding “with thieves over employers” after the guv vetoed legislation he authored.

In a statement yesterday, Wanggaard said the bill would have allowed employers to fire their employees that steal from them.

“First, every Democrat in the Legislature voted against allowing employers to fire employees who have stolen from them,” he wrote. “Now, Governor Evers vetoed the bill. They are literally favoring criminals over victims. It’s nuts.”

But Evers wrote in his veto message the bill’s changes would have meant it wouldn’t be discrimination to make an employment or licensing decision “based on any pending charge” before the person being considered, whether the charge is related to the job or not.

Evers argued the bill would have weakened legal protections against employment discrimination for workers in the state, noting potential hirees could be rejected for a position based on noncriminal allegations and before they have the chance to defend themselves in court.

“This flies in the face of the presumption of innocence and due process that Wisconsinites and Americans expect and deserve … Removing this protection from the law would erode due process protections afforded to workers and job seekers and create new barriers to accessing and retaining employment,” the guv wrote.

The legislation was prompted by a state Supreme Court ruling that found the Oconomowoc Area School District had illegally fired two employees who had been cited for theft following a police investigation, Wanggaard’s release notes.

“The school district gave the brothers the benefit of the doubt, and got punished for it,” he said. “The district would have been better off just firing the employees without investigating whether they stole. It makes no sense.”

See Wanggaard’s release and the veto message.

— Alliant Energy released most of the text of a renewable energy agreement it would sign with Meta under its proposed service contract.

But much of that information had already been made available in prior filings with the Public Service Commission on the proposed contract to power the tech giant’s Beaver Dam data center.

Per previous filings, Alliant would procure power from renewable energy facilities on behalf of Meta — referred to in PSC filings by its shell company, Degas, LLC — with Meta agreeing to pay for any generation or development costs in exchange for power and renewable energy credits from the generation source.

Details like what share of the data center’s power needs would be supplied by renewable energy remain redacted. Meta has publicly stated it intends to match 100% of the data center’s energy demand with investment in renewable energy.

The utility unredacted several new details of the proposed contract last month after environmental and consumer advocacy groups complained about the lack of transparency in Alliant’s initial public filing, revealing details like the data center’s projected 220 megawatt power needs and the 10-year proposed contract length.

“PSC staff reviewed the refiled application and found that while it was substantially improved, there were still some over-redactions and denied the request for confidential handling,” PSC Director of Communications & External Affairs Meghan Sovey-Lashua wrote in an email on the February filing.

The latest filing addressed PSC staff’s remaining concerns, Sovey-Lashua added.

Michael Greif, a legal fellow with Midwest Environmental Advocates, said the information the utility had released since outside groups had first complained was “a testament to the folks who advocated for far fewer redactions and the PSC staff who ended up demanding it.”

MEA in December filed a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court to compel the PSC to release projected energy demand figures for data centers in Beaver Dam and Port Washington.

— Potawatomi Casino & Hotel CEO Dominic Ortiz is urging Gov. Tony Evers to sign legislation that would legalize online sports betting operated through Wisconsin’s tribes.

“We hope the governor will listen to all the tribes and listen to each one of them and understand this is a difficult conversation,” Ortiz told WISN 12’s “UpFront,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “I would say that statewide mobile sports betting is already here and already happening over the state, so we see it as a disadvantage by not being able to go together, and I believe all the tribes can come together.”

Evers hasn’t said whether he’ll sign the bill, which passed the Assembly and Senate with bipartisan support, but previously said he had concerns that not all of Wisconsin’s tribes were on board.

Eight of the state’s 11 tribes signed onto a letter sent to the Senate and Evers earlier this month urging passage of the bill.

Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty says a lawsuit will be filed if Evers signs the online sports betting bill, arguing the Legislature’s act was unconstitutional.

“Whether it’s us or another group that’s out there, I certainly expect that this legislation ends up in court, absolutely,” WILL Deputy Counsel Lucas Vebber told “UpFront.” “I think simply to declare the legislation unconstitutional, I think it’s pretty clear what the Legislature did here was purport to use power that the people of Wisconsin took away from them. The Legislature can’t do that, and that would be the ask to a court here.”

See more from the show.

— Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin’s cancer center is the first facility in the state to offer proton therapy, the health network announced.

This form of radiation therapy precisely targets solid cancer tumors with “high-energy beams” of protons, rather than X-rays. It enables more targeted radiation while reducing exposure to health cells, in hopes of preventing complications and secondary cancers, the announcement notes.

The Froedtert & MCW Clinical Cancer Center on the Froedtert Hospital is now offering proton therapy to adults as well as children through a partnership with Children’s Wisconsin.

The new therapy option comes after a three-year construction process to build the facility to house the MEVION S250i Proton Therapy System, which included specialized shielding and other clinical requirements. It was built by Minnesota-based Mortenson Construction.

“Today, cancer patients in Wisconsin have another tool in treating cancer,” said Dr. Christopher Schultz, a professor of radiation oncology at MCW. “We’re easing the burden by making this advanced treatment accessible without the need to travel far from home.”

Meanwhile, UW Health in Madison is also planning to begin offering proton therapy later this year, according to the health system’s website.

See the release.

— A researcher at UW-Milwaukee is getting $200,000 in funding for an effort to study bone cancer treatment and recovery.

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation has selected Priya Premnath, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the university, for the 2026 Shaw Early Career Research Award. The award’s name honors the late James D. and Dorothy Shaw, who donated to the foundation.

Her research project will explore if a cancer drug called UC2288 could also help regrow bone for patients who’ve had tumors removed, according to details from the university.

The compound, which inhibits a specific gene to fight cancer cells, could theoretically improve healing after bone therapy by influencing local stem cells into becoming bone cells.

See the release.

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