A conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court justice will not participate in a pending case that will determine whether tens of thousands of public sector workers regain collective bargaining rights that were taken away by a 2011 law.

Conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn's recusal puts the focus on whether liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz will also step away from the Act 10 case.

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature has asked that a liberal state Supreme Court justice step aside in a pending case that seeks to overturn a 2011 law that effectively ended collective bargaining for most state workers.

Hagedorn's recusal marks a major blow to Republicans' hopes of a favorable ruling in their quest to uphold the 2011 law that gutted public sector collective bargaining in Wisconsin