Faculty & Staff
Workplace Safety & Workers’ Compensation
A campus with welding booths, chemistry labs and a working machine shop takes workplace safety seriously for employees, not just students.
Reporting a workplace injury
Any employee injured on the job reports it to their supervisor and to environmental health and safety the same day, regardless of how minor it seems — same-day reporting is what keeps a workers’ compensation claim from getting tangled up later over when and how something happened.
How workers’ compensation works here
As a state agency, Porter’s workers’ compensation coverage runs through the Wesconsin Worker’s Compensation program: medical treatment for a work injury is covered with no employee cost, and a portion of lost wages is covered during recovery for injuries that keep someone out of work beyond the waiting period.
Lab- and shop-specific training
Any employee (or, separately, student worker) with regular access to a wet lab, machine shop, welding booth, or other hazard-designated space completes space-specific safety training before receiving keycard access — not just a general orientation. Retraining runs annually for high-hazard spaces.
Environmental health and safety inspections
EHS conducts unannounced walkthroughs of lab and shop spaces on a rolling schedule, checking chemical storage, personal protective equipment availability, and posted evacuation routes; a serious finding can result in a space being closed until corrected, not just noted for later.