Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale released the following statement on the state Supreme Court’s recent decision affirming Safe-Place protection for workers:
This week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a significant decision on worker safety and justice. At the center of the case is Gerald Lorbiecki, a steamfitter and member of the Steamfitters Local 601 union, who tragically died less than a year after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, which he contracted after repeated asbestos exposure at his work site.
In its 5-2 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed the fundamental right of a safe workplace to every worker. Authored by Justice Rebecca Dallet, the decision ruled that under Wisconsin’s Safe-Place statute, the owner of a worksite owes all employees regardless of contractor status a safe place of employment, free “from danger to the life, health, safety or welfare of employees or frequenters.”
Wisconsin’s Safe-Place statute was passed as part of the landmark Industrial Commission Act of 1911, which also included our first-in-the-nation comprehensive Worker’s Compensation Act, apprenticeship regulations, and child labor laws. The Safe-Place statute was enacted to create a higher duty of care for employers and building owners requiring that their premises be as safe as reasonably permitted for employees and frequenters.
Every worker should be able to go to work and return home safely, unscathed by physical injury or occupational illness from the worksite. In its decision in this case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court not only affirmed the rights of Mr. Lorbiecki under the law and the dignity of his life and work, but the rights and dignity of every worker in Wisconsin.
