Briggs & Stratton bankruptcy agreement to provide $200K for worker's comp claims.

Byline: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF

Employees of Briggs & Stratton who were injured at the now-bankrupt company will have an additional $200,000 fund to draw worker's compensation from, thanks to a court decision.

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and the state Department of Justice announced Wednesday that they had won an agreement for the $200,000 fund from their involvement in the Briggs & Stratton Corp. bankruptcy case. The money will come on top of a $5 million surety bond already set aside to pay worker's comp claims filed by Briggs & Stratton employees.

Briggs & Stratton, a manufacturer of small engines founded in Milwaukee in 1908, filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2020. The company then employed about 1,300 people in the Milwaukee area and 5,000 throughout the world.

When an employer is unable to pay outstanding worker's comp claims whether because of bankruptcy or for other reasons the state draws on its Self-Insured...