The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)  is disappointed with the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s recent decision in Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce v. Evers. The decision will result in the government releasing the names of small businesses with employees testing positive for COVID-19, regardless of where or how transmission occurred.

“Our state’s small business community is faced with unprecedented challenges of inflation, labor shortages, and supply disruptions.  The court’s decision will impact small businesses already struggling with economic uncertainty, at a time when they can ill-afford any new challenges to their survival.  A government policy of blame and shame on Main Street business as a tool to control the spread of a virus is simply wrong and this decision will have unintended consequences for thousands of small business owners,” said Bill G. Smith, NFIB State Director in Wisconsin. 

At every stage of this case, the NFIB SBLC filed an amicus brief on behalf of Wisconsin small business owners . Before the state Supreme Court, NFIB led a coalition of thirteen groups, arguing that the court of appeals wrongly decided this case and Governor Evers’ actions to release the names of small businesses would take a monumental toll on the financial health of small businesses in Wisconsin. After the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld that decision, small businesses across the State will continue to suffer.