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States introduce surge of portable benefits bills tied to contractor status
The National Council on Compensation Insurance said it was tracking 1,102 state and federal bills as of July 31, 2026, with 167 enacted and 90 regulations adopted across jurisdictions.
State lawmakers have introduced a surge of portable benefits legislation in 2026 that is tied to how independent contractors are classified, according to analysis from the National Council on Compensation Insurance.
NCCI said it was monitoring 1,102 state and federal bills and 210 proposed workers’ compensation-related regulations as of July 31, 2026, and that 167 bills had been enacted and 90 regulations adopted across all jurisdictions by that point.
The report highlights portable benefits, which attach coverage such as workers’ compensation, health insurance, retirement plans and paid leave to the worker rather than a specific employer. NCCI identified an increase in worker classification bills, largely driven by efforts that reference workers’ compensation within portable benefit plans.
Among states, Idaho, Louisiana and West Virginia’s H.B. 4009 have been enacted, while North Carolina’s H.B. 1083 and S.B. 445 remain pending. Hawaii and Illinois considered pilot programs, Georgia, Kansas, New Hampshire and Wyoming enacted portable benefits bills without a workers compensation-specific component, and at the federal level the Modern Worker Security Act, H.R. 1320, remains pending.