UPDATE: A judge in Waukesha County has issued a temporary injunction blocking the state from releasing a list of businesses with two or more COVID-19 cases.
The judge did not rule on the merits of the case.
The list will not be released until a formal hearing is held.
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MADISON, WI (WSAU) Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s largest business group, asking a judge to block the Evers Administration from releasing a list of businesses that have two-or-more COVID-19 positives.
Multiple sources say the list was going to be released on Friday. The list, which reportedly included more than 1,000 companies, would have also included businesses with two or more contract tracings.
“This type of release has the potential to spread false and misleading information that will damage the brands of Wisconsin employers,” said WMC President & CEO Kurt Bauer. “Not only could this cause significant financial and reputational harm to businesses, it would reduce the effectiveness of contact tracing, reduce the confidence level workers have in their employers and actually increase the likelihood of spreading the virus.”
The lawsuit says releasing the list assumes that employees became ill while at work, when they may have contracted COVID-19 while they were off-the-job.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Waukesha County Court. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.
The Evers Administration hasn’t commented on the lawsuit.
