News of the Day

Small Shops can Reopen as Wisconsin ‘Turns Dial’ on Coronavirus

Posted on May 12, 2020 by

Small shops in Wisconsin can open their doors to a handful of customers under the latest change to the state’s Safer at Home order.

Gov. Tony Evers on Monday said stand-alone retailers and shops in strip malls can open to five people at a time.

“This is focused on small retailers,” the governor said. “I don’t speak for the Kohl’s corporation, but I can’t imagine them opening their stores for five people.”

Evers is also allowing drive-in movie theaters to open, but everyone has to stay in their car.

The governor say this “turning of the dial” does not include barbers or hair salons.

Small shops in Wisconsin can open their doors to a handful of customers under the latest change to the state’s Safer at Home order.

Gov. Tony Evers on Monday said stand-alone retailers and shops in strip malls can open to five people at a time.

“This is focused on small retailers,” the governor said. “I don’t speak for the Kohl’s corporation, but I can’t imagine them opening their stores for five people.”

Evers is also allowing drive-in movie theaters to open, but everyone has to stay in their car.

The governor say this “turning of the dial” does not include barbers or hair salons.

Many lawmakers say it’s good to see steps toward reopening Wisconsin’s economy, but add that it’s disappointing to see Evers once again change his Safer at Home order on the fly.

“Gov. Evers continues to miss the mark by tinkering,” Sen Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, said on Twitter. “Hospitalizations are down or flat over the last week. Businesses and citizens are acting sensibly. Wisconsin is ready to open up – NOW!”

His new order takes effect immediately.

Governor Evers Unveils Reopening Guidelines for Businesses

Posted on May 11, 2020 by

Wisconsin puts out tips businesses can use to keep you safe when they finally reopen. It comes as we all wait for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to rule on the “Safer at Home” order — which is in place through May 26.

In an effort to keep workers, customers, and families safe as Wisconsin works towards reopening businesses, Gov. Tony Evers announced Friday, May 8 some best practices and safety tips to follow across multiple industries.

The brochures include general guidelines for all businesses to follow as well as industry-specific advice, such as for restaurants, retailers, manufacturers, professional offices, farmers, builders, hotel and motel operators, barbers, personal care services and other fields.

The guides were developed by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) in consultation with the Departments of Health Services, Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, and Tourism, as well as and industry experts and associations.

Some of the general advice for businesses includes:

  • Making sure that employees who are sick don’t come to work
  • Curtailing business travel whenever possible.
  • Promoting telecommuting or other work-from-home arrangements
  • Making sure employees have access to sanitizers and personal protective equipment when appropriate.

Gov. Evers said the reopening of state businesses will continue to be guided by the health care metrics contained in the Badger Bounce Back plan, which include tracking new cases of COVID-19, assessing available medical resources to cope with COVID cases, and ensuring adequate testing and mitigation resources.

State Unemployment Insurance Reverse Fund could be Depleted by October

Posted on May 8, 2020 by

A new analysis shows Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance fund could be depleted by October if the state’s high rate of joblessness — caused by efforts to clamp down on the spread of COVID-19 — continues at its current pace.

Under the current rate of claims of about 300,000 a week, which is nearly 200% higher than the average number of weekly claims received during the first year of the Great Recession, the state unemployment fund would be exhausted by Oct. 11, according to DWD.

The fund, which sat at more than $1.8 billion Wednesday, would last until Jan. 3 if payable claims drop to 170,000 per week and, if weekly payable claims were reduced to 85,000, the fund would be depleted by Sept. 19, 2021.

DWD Secretary Caleb Frostman said in a statement the department is monitoring the fund and planning for all contingencies.

Assembly Speaker Outlines Possible GOP Changes to Stay-At-Home Order

Posted on May 7, 2020 by

A Republican-backed stay-at-home order in Wisconsin would include a shift to regional restrictions and a move away from a state list of so-called “essential businesses,” the leader of the state Assembly said Wednesday.

Speaking at an online Wisconsin Health News event Wednesday morning, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said he hopes Republicans will never have to debut their own proposal. He would prefer to have a “seat at the table” while the executive branch drafts changes to its current order.

During the event, the Speaker reiterated his party’s support for a more regional approach to restrictions on businesses and people.

“Let’s start to turn the dial, as opposed to treating every part of the state like it is Milwaukee,” he said. “Because if we wait for Milwaukee and Brown County to be the indicator, it’s going to be a long time potentially before Wisconsin can open up.”

Vos also said he supports including more specific phases for restaurants reopening, including possible guidelines for when they could offer outdoor seating and benchmarks for reaching different percentages of indoor capacity.

He also urged a move away from a list of so-called “essential businesses” that are allowed to be open, while others are not.

“I don’t understand how you can go and get a key made at Walmart or buy flowers for Mother’s Day, but somehow if you would go to the flower shop or the key shop, that would be a major threat to public health,” Vos said.

He said he trusts people and businesses to take the appropriate health precautions.

Vos also said the state should have the plan to allow for churches to begin offering in-person worship services again.

The Speaker said he has been consulting with the Wisconsin Hospital Association and nursing home groups when considering possible changes to Wisconsin’s current policies.

MMAC Wants Phased-in Restart of State’s Economy

Posted on May 6, 2020 by

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce on Tuesday announced that its board on Friday unanimously approved a resolution calling for a phased-in “smart restart” of the state’s economy, beginning as early as the week of May 11, two weeks before Gov. Tony Evers’ “Safer at Home” order is scheduled to expire.

MMAC president Tim Sheehy today said the organization supported the governor’s initial “Safer at Home” order, but urged Evers to begin a phased reopening of the state’s economy.

MMAC’s support of Gov. Evers’ initial “Safer at Home” order through April 24 was strongly informed by concerns raised by health care leaders over the speed of the disease’s spread and the possibility of our health care systems being overwhelmed with critically ill patients,” Sheehy said.

But each day that “Safer at Home” lasts, the economic damage continues to mount. Economists at UW-Madison estimated the state’s unemployment rate at 16.7% as of April 16. The high during the Great Recession was 9.3%.

“The extension of this (Safe at Home) order to May 26 is well-intentioned, and we appreciate the challenge that elected officials face in an unprecedented crisis,” Sheehy said.

“However, it is time to move forward with a smart restart to build employee and consumer confidence, which is the best cure for our economic ills. We believe the (Milwaukee) region can work together and find ways to resume additional economic activity while adapting smart practices to protect employees and customers.”

Governor Evers, Republicans Discuss Regional Reopening of Wisconsin

Posted on May 5, 2020 by

Republican legislative leaders talked with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Monday about opening some parts of Wisconsin less affected by the coronavirus pandemic sooner than others.

Evers met with Republican and Democratic legislative leaders for the first time to talk about the virus response. The meeting came the day before the Wisconsin Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in a case brought by Republican legislative leaders seeking to block Evers’ “safer at home” order that is slated to run until May 26.

“The basic question to be answered is, what is their plan?” Evers said ahead of the meeting. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the court case or getting in front of the court case.”

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the lawmakers talked with Evers about the possibility of a regional approach to reopening the state. Vos didn’t say if Republicans offered a specific plan.

“It’s a safe and reasonable approach that I hope we can begin working on developing,” Vos said in a statement. “What’s needed for Wisconsin right now is a bipartisan reopening strategy that is safe, gradual and regional. We shouldn’t have a Republican plan or a governor’s plan, we need a Wisconsin plan that the entire state can get behind.”

Evers has loosened numerous restrictions in recent days. Republicans, along with the state chamber of commerce, have been pushing for a more rapid reopening, including easing restrictions more rapidly in areas not as affected by the virus.

Wisconsin Supreme Court will take up “Safer at Home” lawsuit

Posted on May 4, 2020 by

The Wisconsin Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear oral arguments early next week in a lawsuit seeking to block Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order.

Evers issued the order in March. It was supposed to expire on April 24, but state Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm extended it until May 26 at Evers’ direction.

The order closed schools, shuttered nonessential businesses, limited the size of social gatherings and prohibited nonessential travel.

The governor and the state’s public health leaders have said the order is designed to slow the virus’ spread. But Republicans have grown impatient with the prohibitions, saying they are crushing the economy.

Republican legislators filed a lawsuit directly with the conservative-controlled Supreme Court last month challenging the extension. They have argued that the order is really an administrative rule, and Palm should have submitted it to the Legislature for approval before issuing it. Evers has countered that the executive branch has broad authority to combat communicable diseases.

The ruling said the court will consider whether the order was really an administrative rule and whether Palm was within her rights to issue it unilaterally. Even if the order doesn’t qualify as a rule, the court said it will still weigh whether Palm exceeded her authority by “closing all ‘nonessential’ businesses, ordering all Wisconsin persons to stay home, and forbidding all ‘nonessential’ travel.”

Wisconsin Businesses Urge Legislators to OK Reopening Plan

Posted on May 1, 2020 by

Wisconsin’s powerful chamber of commerce urged legislators Thursday to adopt its business reopening plan, telling an Assembly committee that Gov. Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order is crushing the economy and that the state has the coronavirus under control.

The plan creates an algorithm that takes into account the local infection rate, health care capacity, population density and other factors to determine what limitations should be placed on a business. All businesses could open, but their operations would be limited based on local factors calculated under the model.

Companies would be given a risk factor of minimal, moderate or substantial. The higher the risk, the more precautions businesses would have to take.

Representatives of the restaurant, tavern and other industries told the committee they can’t survive another month under the stay-at-home order. They said they’re afraid Evers will extend his order through July or later.

“We are at an extinction level event for small businesses and restaurants,” Kristine Hillmer, president of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, told the committee in person.

Committee Democrats complained that Republicans stacked the meeting with business representatives and didn’t invite any laborers or health care officials to speak. They warned that reopening businesses too soon would lead to a spike in infections.

“What happens when businesses open too early and workers don’t feel comfortable?” Rep. Christine Sinicki of Milwaukee said.

Republicans countered that Evers’ standards for re-opening are so high the state will never meet them and the WMC plan is scientific and provides a way to mitigate risks. Rep. Michael Schraa asked Mike Nikolai, president of Waupaca Foundry, and Troy Berg, CEO of Dane Manufacturing, which produces metal products, whether their workers have complained about staying open.

Berg said his managers keep employees up-to-date about best practices to prevent infections between every shift and no one has quit. Nikolai said his workers are so scared about losing their jobs that attendance has actually improved.

“If you want zero risk, then you’ll have zero economic activity,” Nikolai said.

Evers Administration Orders Immediate 5% Reduction in State Spending Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted on April 30, 2020 by

In a letter to all state employees, Evers’ administration secretary, Joel Brennan, said all of the state’s executive agencies will need to make the reduction in taxpayer-funded operating expenses by June 30.

In a media call with reporters Wednesday, Evers described the cut as a first step to begin addressing anticipated shortfalls in state revenue brought on by an economic recession and the administration’s efforts to reduce transmission of COVID-19 by closing nonessential businesses.

“These things are important,” Evers said. “We think it’s one of our ways to get to a better place financially. Cutting the operations budgets by 5% is approximately $70 million in savings, which is important for us as a government going forward.”

The reduction is in addition to restrictions on state-sponsored out-of-state travel, a hiring freeze with exceptions for COVID-19-related positions and those essential for business functions, and a suspension of discretionary merit compensation.

 

Companies Seek to Limit Legal Liability for Virus Infections

Posted on April 29, 2020 by

As companies start planning their reopenings, business groups are pushing Congress to limit liability from potential lawsuits filed by workers and customers infected by the coronavirus.

They appear to have the White House’s ear.

President Donald Trump has floated shielding businesses from lawsuits. His top economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on CNBC last week that businesses shouldn’t be held liable to trial lawyers “putting on false lawsuits that will probably be thrown out of court.” He said the issue could require legislation, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that the issue would be a priority when lawmakers return.

At issue is how to balance protecting businesses from lawsuits that could distract them and even lead to financial ruin, while also enabling justice for customers and workers who in a time of rapidly rising unemployment may not have the option of leaving their jobs for something safer.

“If there is no liability on the part of employers without a set of rules by which employers have to abide by, then that means you can have a wild wild west,” said Kent Swig, president of Swig Equities, LLC, a privately owned real estate investment and development company.

“You have to have a balance,” he added, “and you have to have rules and regulations.”

Swig says he’s planning measures like one-way lanes in public corridors in the lobbies and plexiglass dividers in offices at his properties. But he’s seeking national guidelines as well.

Linda Kelly, general counsel at the National Association of Manufacturers, said her trade group is “not trying to protect bad actors, and we are also not saying that liability should be completely eliminated.”

Rather, she said, the group believes “there should be a higher standard in place in order to impose legal liability and that employers who are doing the best that they can with the knowledge they have should not be subject to legal liability.”