The 2026 Legislative and Regulatory Trends Report (Report) highlights some of the legislative activity that is shaping the workers compensation landscape this year.
NCCI reviews several thousand bills and regulations each year to identify themes that may impact the workers compensation system.
Topics of Interest at a Glance
While the topics of interest identified in 2026 are mainly consistent with topics from prior years, the distribution of the number of bills for each issue varies year to year, offering valuable insight.
This year, we saw a shift in the bill mix, with a noticeable increase in worker classification-related bills, primarily driven by numerous portable benefits for independent-contractor legislation across states. Because this new activity represented a significant share of worker classification-related bills, we have highlighted portable benefit bills in this year’s report. Additionally, the report includes a spotlight section where we highlight topics that gained traction this year.
Worker Classification
The question of whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor continues to be a focus of public policymakers at both the state and federal levels. Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Virginia enacted bills related to worker classification. Other states, including Alaska, California, Colorado, and New Jersey, considered legislation that would classify certain workers as independent contractors under certain circumstances....view more
At the federal level, Congress is considering US HR 6646, the Empowering App-Based Workers Act, which promotes transparency and accountability in covered digital labor platform work. This bill addresses, in part, forms of employer control exercised by algorithmic management and may have implications for the classification of app-based workers as independent contractors and, in turn, their access to workers compensation benefits.
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Portable Benefits
Portable benefits are employee benefits—such as workers compensation, health insurance, retirement plans, and paid leave—that are attached to the worker rather than a specific employer, allowing coverage to follow the worker from job to job....view more
Recent federal legislative activity includes a pending bill that would ensure that the provision of portable benefits to an individual is not considered in determining whether such individual is an employee of a person.
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Mental Injury
Mental injury-related legislation has been a trending topic in workers compensation for several years. While the majority of mental injury bills continue to be related to first responders, most of the mental injury-related legislation in 2026 so far has centered on who can qualify for the coverage, what conditions qualify for coverage, and which medical professionals are authorized to diagnose qualifying conditions....view more
Several states considered legislation to expand mental injury/PTSD coverage to additional workers, including Idaho, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. Additionally, several states considered bills to add practitioners who are authorized to diagnose certain mental disorders, including Maryland, Minnesota, and New York.
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The Report also includes developments on other topics, such as:
- Single-Payer Health Insurance
- Marijuana Legalization and Reimbursement
- Hallucinogens/Psychedelics
2026 Issues Spotlight
NCCI continues to monitor emerging topics of interest that may directly or indirectly impact workers compensation. As NCCI stays on the pulse of legislative and regulatory activity, new and emerging topics provide insights on potential future changes to workers compensation, including:
- Workers Compensation Alternatives
- Workplace Safety
- Artificial Intelligence
- Zero-Estimated Exposure Policies
Additionally, Report provides legislative activity for the broad topics of interest by geographical region, including the Midwestern, Northeastern, Southeastern, and Western regions. It also includes other bills of interest for each region. The information in the Report aligns with the legislative cycle to include the latest countrywide, regional, and individual state actions and trends as of July 31, 2026.
Use the navigation icons at the top of the page to access these resources:
Enacted Legislation—Interactive Dashboard—Offers interactive navigation for a countrywide view of 2026 enacted workers compensation-related legislation, as well as enacted legislation from 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Loss Cost/Rate Filing—Interactive Dashboard—Allows you to navigate approved loss cost/rate information based on the 2025–2026 filing season and prior filing seasons.
Contact Tim Tucker, Executive Director—Legislative & Government Affairs at tim_tucker@ncci.com for questions about the 2026 Legislative and Regulatory Trends Report.
This article is provided solely as a reference tool to be used for informational purposes only. The information in this article shall not be construed or interpreted as providing legal or any other advice. Use of this article for any purpose other than as set forth herein is strictly prohibited.
