The growth of heat related injuries has become a catalyst for a wave of state and federal proposals aimed at protecting workers from extreme heat — one of several emerging issues that the National Council on Compensation Insurance flagged as potentially reshaping the workers’ compensation landscape in 2026.

Between 2011 and 2022, approximately 34,000 heat-related injuries resulted in 479 worker fatalities, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by the NCCI. The organization said its own analyses show heat-related claims are rising across every sector, with the most significant effects in construction, natural resources and upkeep/maintenance, including landscaping, according to the report.

States and Feds Push Heat Illness Prevention Standards

Lawmakers in multiple states have introduced bills that would require employers to take specific preventive measures when temperatures climb. Arizona’s HB 2684, introduced in 2026, would mandate that employers develop written heat-related illness mitigation programs when employees face temperatures above 80 degrees, NCCI reported. New Hampshire’s HB 1451, also introduced this year, takes a broader approach by addressing both heat and cold stress under a proposed Workplace Extreme Temperatures Protection Standards Act.

California advanced a bill in 2025 that would have created a presumption linking outdoor heat-related injuries in the agriculture industry to employment when employers failed to comply with prevention standards, but the governor vetoed it, according to the report.

At the federal level, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has a proposed rule under consideration that would require employers with more than 10 workers to develop heat-related illness and injury prevention plans for each worksite, triggered when the heat index reaches 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The plans would need to address hazard identification, employee monitoring, water and rest breaks, and personal protective equipment, the report said. No timeline has been given for when — or whether — the proposed OSHA rule will be adopted.

Two federal bills are also pending. The House is considering HR 3702, which would direct NOAA to study the economic costs of extreme heat using workers’ compensation claims data, among other factors. The Senate has S. 2298, known as the Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act, which would require employers to provide workplaces free from hazardous heat conditions and direct the Department of Labor to issue a heat protection standard, according to NCCI.

Workplace Violence Bills Target Health Care and Beyond

Policymakers are also turning their attention to workplace violence, with proposals aimed at both broad worker protections and industry-specific safeguards, the report noted. Many of the initiatives center on requiring employers to adopt violence prevention programs and plans.

At the federal level, HR 2531 would direct the Secretary of Labor to issue standards requiring employers in the health care and social service industries to develop comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans, NCCI said.

In New York, S 4140 would extend workers’ compensation benefits to employees injured as a consequence of a sexual offense. Virginia considered HB 1620 to evaluate the prevalence of workplace violence statewide, though the bill did not advance.

Structural Workers’ Comp Reforms Test Traditional Frameworks

Risk managers should also track proposals that could fundamentally alter how workers’ compensation coverage is delivered, NCCI said. Several states considered changes that would introduce captive insurers, opt-out mechanisms and alternative coverage arrangements into the workers’ compensation system.

Nevada’s AB 318 would have allowed captive insurers to write direct workers’ compensation insurance and potentially participate in assigned risk pools, but the bill did not advance, according to the report. Florida considered HB 1069 and SB 1426, which would have permitted qualifying employers to adopt occupational injury benefit plans as an alternative to standard workers’ compensation coverage — neither bill advanced. Indiana’s SB309 passed its Senate but stalled; it would have allowed certain small business members to provide substitute workers’ compensation systems without board approval.

One measure did succeed: Oklahoma enacted SB642, which authorizes agreements allowing contractors to provide workers’ compensation coverage for their subcontractors, NCCI reported.

Read the full report here. &