(The Center Square) – Gov. Tony Evers is going to have to wait if he wants to publish a list of businesses in the state with a coronavirus positive.
A judge in Waukesha County issued a temporary injunction Monday that stops the governor from moving ahead with his planned coronavirus list, at least for now.
“Businesses around Wisconsin have already faced significant economic harm from COVID-19, and this type of release has the potential to spread false and misleading information that will just make matters worse,” Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce President & CEO Kurt Bauer said in hailing the decision.
WMC has been fighting for months to keep the governor from outing businesses that have seen a customer or a worker test positive. More than 1,000 businesses that had at least two employees who tested positive for COVID-19, or had two or more contact tracing investigations, were reportedly on the governor’s list.
“While an employee may have contracted COVID-19 outside the workplace and properly quarantined, a business could still face financial or reputational harm if consumers falsely blame the employer due to this release,” Bauer said.
Evers has said naming businesses with a coronavirus positive would simply give people the information they need to make safe choices about where to shop or eat.
The governor first talked about releasing a list in July. Evers’ office has talked about the list since, but has never released it,
The WMC, the Muskego Area Chamber of Commerce and the New Berlin Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Bureau filed a joint lawsuit in October seeking the prevent the governor from releasing any such list.
The WMC’s Bauer said he hopes the judge makes the temporary injunction permanent at some point.
By Benjamin Yount | The Center Square
Go to Source
Reposted with permission
