Wisconsin 30th State to Pass Anti-Indemnification Law

Gov. Scott Walker (R) has made Wisconsin the 30th state to prohibit shipping contracts that require carriers to assume all liability for accidents regardless of whether they are at fault.

Walker signed the anti-indemnification legislation Thursday, after the bill unanimously passed the senate in May and the assembly in June, both times on voice votes.

The governor signed the bill during a visit to the Green Bay, Wis., headquarters of Schneider National, which ranks No. 6 on the Transport Topics list of Top 100 For-Hire Carriers in the United States and Canada.

The trucking industry campaign in Wisconsin to win the protection proved to be an “easy sell,” said Thomas Howells, president of the Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association.

“We emphasized the fact it was a matter of fairness,” said Howells. “Accountability is another word we used and responsibility.”

“It also helped, clearly, that we were the 30th state,” he said. “We emphasized again that we’re not doing something that nobody‘s ever looked at before.”