Boca Raton, FL – NCCI recently released its 2026 Legislative and Regulatory Trends report, which provides an overview of some of the legislative activity shaping the workers compensation landscape this year, with countrywide, regional, and individual state trends as of July 31, 2026.
NCCI reviews several thousand bills and regulations each year to identify legislation that may impact the workers compensation system. From this review, NCCI generally identifies approximately 1,100 bills and regulations to monitor during the legislative season for potential impact.
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, NCCI 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 it highlights topics that gained traction this year.
By the Numbers:
- 1,102 state and federal bills monitored
- 210 proposed workers compensation–related regulations
- 167 bills enacted and 90 regulations adopted
(as of 7/31/26, across all jurisdictions)
Key issues included:
- Worker Classification: Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Virginia enacted bills related to worker classification. At the federal level, Congress is considering US HR 6646, the Empowering App-Based Workers Act.
- Portable Benefits: Benefits attached to the worker rather than a specific employer, allowing coverage to follow the worker from job to job. This activity drove much of the increase in worker classification–related bills.
- Mental Injury: Most 2026 legislation centered on who can qualify for coverage, what conditions qualify, and which medical professionals are authorized to diagnose qualifying conditions.
- Also covered: single-payer health insurance; marijuana legalization and reimbursement; and hallucinogens/psychedelics.
This year’s report also includes an Issues Spotlight section on emerging topics that may directly or indirectly impact workers compensation: workers’ comp alternatives, workplace safety, artificial intelligence, and zero-estimated exposure policies.
The report also includes several other interactive tools & dashboards, including:
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.
View the report & dashboards here: NCCI: 2026 Regulatory and Legislative Trends or check out the acoompanying infographic: NCCI Infographic: 2026 Regulatory and Legislative Trends (PDF)
Source: NCCI