Wisconsin considers exclusive remedy exception for abusive environments

A bill in Wisconsin would create an exception to workers compensation’s exclusive remedy for employees who have been subjected to abusive work environments.

S.B. 460, introduced Thursday, defines abusive conduct as that which includes “acts or omissions, by an employer or employee that a reasonable person would find to be abusive on the basis of the severity, nature, and frequency of the conduct.”

Current Wisconsin workers comp case law allows mental injury workers comp claims without a physical injury if it results from a situation more severe than everyday workplace stress and tension. S.B. 460 would allow for civil actions outside workers comp under abusive work conditions.

The bill says such conduct “includes repeated infliction of verbal abuse such as derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets; verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct that is threatening, intimidating, or humiliating; sabotage or undermining of an employee’s work performance; or, as an aggravating factor, exploitation of an employee’s known psychological or physical illness or disability.” It does not apply to a single act unless that act is “especially severe or egregious.”

Under the bill, an employee who alleges injury from being subjected to an abusive work environment “may bring an action in circuit court against the employer or employee” within one year after the last act of abusive conduct. An employee also may do so if subjected to retaliation or a threat of retaliation for opposing an abusive work environment or for initiating or in any manner participating in an investigation action.

If the employer is found responsible, the bill says, a court may grant “relief the court considers appropriate, including reinstatement of the aggrieved employee, removal of the person who engaged in the abusive conduct from the aggrieved employee’s work area, medical expenses, back pay, front pay, compensation for pain and suffering, compensation for emotional distress, punitive damages, and reasonable costs and attorney fees.”