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WISCONSIN WORKERS'
COMPENSATION LAW
Table of Contents:
I. Important Timelines
| Report of Injury | •Insurer files WKC-12; First Report of Injury must be filed on or before 14 days past injury or within 7 days of notice of injury if notice given after 14 days post-injury. •ER Notify Work Comp Division within 1 day of death •ER Notify Insurer within 7 days of injury if disability exists beyond 3 days or if primary liability exists for unpaid medical. |
DWD 80.02(2)(a) |
| Change in Payment | Within 30 days; Examples: •TTD changes to PPD •TTD or TPD re-instated •TPD paid WKC-7359 •Final Payment |
DWD 80.02(2)(e) |
| Denial of Liability or Discontinuance | Within 7 days. | DWD 80.02(2)(g) |
| Disability Commences | 3 day waiting period, if still disabled after 7th day must pay for first 3 days. | 102.43 |
| TTD | Payable within 14 days of EE leaving employment •Discontinuance at healing plateau •No limit on number of weeks |
102.43 |
| Awards Under Compromise Agreement | Payments due within 10 days. | DWD 80.15 |
| Answer to Application for Hearing | Form WKC-19 due within 20 days of notice of filing received from Work. Comp. Division. | DWD 80.05(2) |
| Statute of Limitations for Claims | •12 years from last payment made by insurer.
No statute of limitations for Occupational Disease. •Benefits or treatment due after 12 years shall be paid by Supplemental Benefit Fund •Where no compensation paid and no claim filed-2 years. |
102.17(4) 102.65 |
| IME | •Expenses to attend are due in advance (wage loss and mileage). •Within 100 miles of EE's homePay no later than 30 days, unless denial sent in writing |
102.13(4), 102.13(1)(b) |
| Order on Merits | Payment due within 21 days. | DWD 80.1 |
| Petition for Review of ALJ Decision to LIRC | Within 21 days of ALJ's Decision Form WKC-28 | 102.18(3) |
| Appeal of LIRC to Circuit Courtt | Within 30 days of Order, file Summons and Complaint in county where EE resides | 102.23(1)(a) |
| Appeal of Circuit Court to Court of Appeals | Within 45 days or 90 days | 102.25(1), 808.04(1) |
| Appeals Court to Wisconsin Supreme Court | Within 30 days of Court of Appeals decision | 808.10 |
| Medical Expenses | •Barred if application for hearing filed after 12 years from last payment •Disputes may proceed under informal process |
102.17(4) 102.16 |
| Choice of Doctor | •Automatic second choice •No right to out-of-state choice without consent of ER for dates of injury between 1-01-98 and 12-31-99 |
102.42(2) 102.42(2)(a) |
| Healing Plateau | Allow discontinuance of TTD & TPD benefits. | |
| Retraining | 80 week limitation for payment of TTD01/01/92 | 102.43(5) |
II. Legislative History
| 01/01/84 | •Unusual mental stress amended Employee status given to juvenile and adult offenders performing uncompensated community service work •Court interest payable from date of LIRC decision •Employee must have returned to work for 10 days immediately preceding renewed period of TTD to receive upgraded rate •State fund to pay supplemental benefits in barred occupational disease claims •Dependency questions to be determined as of date of death (was as of date of injury) |
W.S. § 102.01(2)(c) W.S. §102.17(13), (14) W.S. § 102.22(2) W.S. § 102.43(7) W.S. §102.44(1) W.S. § 102.66 W.S. § 102.51(4); injuries after |
| 11/27/85 | •Part-time employee's wage no longer expanded to f
ull time to compute TTD
benefit rate, even if employed full time elsewhere; 30-hour minimum changed to 24-hour minimum •Wage from second job not counted when calculating TTD/TPD |
W.S. § 102.11(1)(d)(f) W.S. § 102.43(6) |
| 01/01/90 | •Psychologists permitted to use WC-16-B forms to
provide opinion on
diagnosis, necessity of treatment, and cause of injury
•Sixty days notice required for intent to produce vocational testimony, including name of expert •Uninsured employers fund created •Agencies that lease employees to other employers made responsible for worker's compensation benefits •Death benefit to unestranged surviving parents increased to $6,500 |
W.S. § 102.17(1)(d) W.S. § 102.17(7)(b) W.S. § 102.80-82 W.S. §102.01(2)(f), .06, .29(6) W.S. § 102.48(1) |
| 01/01/92 | •Employee's right to report from respondent's medical exam spelled out
•Employee must be advised of area of specialization of respondent's medical examiner •Permitted cost of medical records increased to the greater of $.45 per page or $7.50, plus postage •New mechanism created to resolve disputes regarding reasonableness and necessity of medical bills |
W.S. § 102.13(1)(b) (intro) W.S. § 102.13(1)(b)1.) W.S. § 102.13(2)(b) W.S. § 102.16(2)(a) 102.16(2m)(a) |
| 01/01/94 | •Respondent's right to adverse vocational
evaluation codified
•WC-3s must be filed 15 days before hearing •Department has power to order interim payments where only dispute is which of two or more respondents liable •10% penalty provisions for inexcusable delay in payments are fine tuned •Disability for dominant hand injuries increased by 25% |
W.S. § 102.13(1)(am) W.S. § 102.17(8) W.S. § 102.175(2) W.S. § 102.22(1) W.S. § 102.54 |
| 01/01/96 | •Burial expense raised to $6,000 Certain volunteers for nonprofit organizations not covered under act |
W.S. § 102.50 W.S. § 102.07(11m) |
| 07/01/96 | •Uninsured Employers fund commences operation for injuries after this date; while fund able to pay claims, "contractor over" provisions of § 102.06 suspended | W.S. §102.80 |
| 01/01/98 | •Temporary help agencies made specifically liable for "penalty"
provisions of Act •Regarding medical bills, DWD authorized to decide reasonableness-of fee and necessity- of-treatment disputes when approving compromise or stipulation •Out-of-state treatment not covered except with insurer's consent (provision expires Jan. 1, 2000) |
W.S. § 102.04(2m) W.S. § 102.16(1m) W.S. § 102.42(2)(a) |
III. Maximum Wage and Rate Chart
| Effective Date | 1/1/02 | 1/1/01 | 1/1/00 | 1/1/99 | 1/1/98 | 1/1/97 | 1/1/96 | ||||
| Maximum weekly wage for temporary, permanent total & death benefits - | 970.50 | 873.00 | 823.50 | 807.00 | 784.50 | 763.50 | 741.00 | ||||
| •Weekly rate | 647.00 | 582.00 | 549.00 | 538.00 | 523.00 | 509.00 | 494.00 | ||||
| •Daily Rate | 107.83 | 97.00 | 91.50 | 89.67 | 87.17 | 84.83 | 82.33 | ||||
| Maximum wage for permanent partial only | 318.00 | 276.00 | 276.00 | 276.00 | 268.50 | 261.00 | 253.50 | ||||
| •Monthly Rate | 918.67 | 797.33 | 797.33 | 797.33 | 775.67 | 754.00 | 732.33 | ||||
| •Weekly Rate | 212.00 | 184.00 | 184.00 | 184.00 | 179.00 | 174.00 | 169.00 | ||||
| Maximum annual wage (Weekly wage x 50) | 48,525.00 | 43,650.00 | 41,175.00 | 40,350.00 | 39,225.00 | 38,175.00 | 37,050.00 | ||||
| Maximum death benefit (Annual wage x 4) | 194,100.00 | 174,600.00 | 164,700.00 | 161,400.00 | 156,900.00 | 152,700.00 | 148,200.00 | ||||
| •Maximum payment to spouse - Monthly Rate | 2,803.67 | 2,522.00 | 2,379.00 | 2,331.33 | 2,266.33 | 2,205.67 | 2,140.67 | ||||
| •Weekly Rate | 647.00 | 582.00 | 549.00 | 538.00 | 523.00 | 509.00 | 494.00 | ||||
| Maximum payment from Children's Fund - Monthly Rate | 280.37 | 252.20 | 237.90 | 233.13 | 226.63 | 220.57 | 207.57 | ||||
| •Weekly Rate | 64.70 | 58.20 | 54.90 | 53.80 | 52.30 | 50.90 | 49.40 | ||||
| Death benefits to unestranged parents | 6,500.00 | 6,500.00 | 6,500.00 | 6,500.00 | 6,500.00 | 6,500.00 | 6,500.00 | ||||
| Maximum burial expenses | 6,000.00 | 6,000.00 | 6,000.00 | 6,000.00 | 6,000.00 | 6,000.00 | 6,000.00 | ||||
| Payment into State Fund- § 102.59 | 7,000.00 | 7,000.00 | 7,000.00* | 7,000.00 | + | + | + | ||||
| Payment into State Fund Total Dependency - § 102.49 | 5,000.00 | 5,000.00 | 5,000.00* | 5,000.00* | + | + | + | ||||
$5,000.00 plus 100% of Death Benefit in 5 installments
1999 - $32,280 per installment if max
- $30,980 if parents receive $6,500
2000* - $32,900 per installment if max
- $31,640 if parents receive $6,500
2001* - $34,920 per installment if max
- $33,620 if parents receive $6,500
2002* - $38,820 per installment if max
- $37,520 if parents receive $6,500
*If payments are required +No payment required Compiled by Lisa F. Kinney, Esq.