Wisconsin GOP leader cites bogus COVID info to nix request

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly last month rejected an immunocompromised Democratic lawmaker’s request to be allowed to work virtually because the speaker erroneously insisted that COVID-19 can’t be transmitted through the air.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday that Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and the Legislature’s human resources director each rejected requests from state Rep. Jodi Emerson to be allowed to participate in floor sessions and committee hearings from her office instead of in person.

Vos said in a statement that Emerson has been offered a number of accommodations “and has yet to respond to the Legislative Human Resources Office on the matter.”

Emerson’s lawyer wrote to Vos that the denial violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

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