804.01, Stats., does not apply, but the Commission may by rule permit the taking and preservation of evidence. A review of the Wisconsin Administrative Code reveals that the Commission does not have such a rule permitting the taking and preserving of documentary evidence. Code ERC 10 sets forth the General Provisions related to all proceedings before the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission. Code ERC 12 sets out rules related to the prevention of prohibited practices. These provisions do not set forth a rule allowing the discovery of documents.
Formal discovery is the exception rather than the rule in administrative proceedings.
The instant case is not such an unusual or compelling case such that the exception rather than the rule should apply and therefore pre-hearing discovery of these documents is not warranted. The Complainant may subpoena relevant documents for production at the hearing. Accordingly, the Complainant's Motion is denied. Dated at Madison, Wisconsin, this 22 nd day of September, 2000. The State Bar of Wisconsin presents the information on this web site as a service to our members and other Internet users.