First State Bans Third-Party Litigation Investment

First State Bans Third-Party Litigation Investment

North Carolina has become the first state to ban third-party litigation investment, a move that could reshape how civil lawsuits are financed and monitored nationwide.

Gov. Josh Stein signed House Bill 315 into law on June 22, making it unlawful for outside investors to fund civil litigation in exchange for a share of any settlement or judgment. Third-party litigation investment, known as TPLI, has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry. Under the practice, private investors provide capital to plaintiffs in return for a financial stake in the outcome of lawsuits. Supporters say the financing can expand access to the courts. Critics argue it can encourage unnecessary litigation, extend disputes, and insert outside financial interests into legal proceedings.

Meanwhile, a recently released report from conservative think tanks in Texas and Florida claims tort reform in both states helped fuel economic growth and warns that efforts by personal injury trial lawyers could weaken what the authors call the states’ “economic dominance.”

The report from the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute and the Florida-based James Madison Institute includes a recommendation that state lawmakers revisit legislation addressing third-party litigation funding. It cites a Texas proposal that would have required litigants to disclose whether outside parties were financing lawsuits, as well as a congressional proposal that would prohibit foreign governments or sovereign wealth funds from funding litigation in the United States.

According to reports cited by Texans for Lawsuit Reform, nearly 70% of U.S. litigation-funding capital is now directed toward mass-tort portfolios. This growing trend has raised concern among Texas employers as similar financing models have begun to appear in workplace injury litigation.

The insurance industry is expected to watch the North Carolina law closely. Property and casualty insurers have argued that third-party litigation funding contributes to rising claim severity and higher defense costs by encouraging longer or more aggressive litigation.

The impact of the law on litigation trends and insurance costs remains uncertain. If the ban leads to fewer investor-backed lawsuits or shorter litigation timelines, insurers could see lower legal expenses and more predictable claims outcomes.

Click here for a copy of the North Carolina law.

TDI Designated Doctor Audit Finds Unnecessary Testing

A state audit of designated doctors in Texas’ workers compensation system found several cases of doctors referring injured employees for additional testing that was not medically necessary but found none of the referrals rise to level of being referred for enforcement.

Instead, the Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers Compensation (DWC) will send letters of education to the subjects to explain Official Disability Guidelines and evidence-based medicine practices regarding diagnosis, additional testing, and required documentation.

The audit of designated doctors was intended to determine whether additional testing and referrals they ordered were medically necessary, reasonable and properly documented. Auditors selected 10 subjects and reviewed five cases for each. Of the 50 cases reviewed, 25 were closed with no further action and 25 resulted in letters of education.

The audit found that nine of the 10 subjects used the same scheduling company; one did not use a scheduling company. According to DWC, all the additional testing was performed by health care practitioners associated with the same scheduling company. Designated doctors contracted with that company referred injured employees for tests including functional capacity evaluations, electromyography and neuropsychological testing.

A 2017 audit of designated doctors used the same objectives and methodology and reviewed 10 subjects. In that audit, all subjects were referred to Enforcement for violations tied to referrals for additional testing.

DWC published an executive summary of the audit here.

OSHA No Longer Citing Employers on Collection of COVID Info

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says it will no longer cite employers for failing to record COVID-19 cases or report COVID-19-related deaths and hospitalizations.

The new policy was announced in a recent agency memo and is the latest step in OSHA’s move away from pandemic-era enforcement rules. In its memo, OSHA said the U.S. COVID-19 public health emergency ended May 11, 2023, and that COVID-19 reporting is now handled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and medical professionals in a manner similar to flu reporting.

The agency also noted that identifying the source of COVID-19 infections has become more difficult than it was earlier in the pandemic, as detection methods and public health surveillance systems have changed since 2021.

OSHA said the new approach aligns COVID-19 enforcement with its treatment of common cold and flu cases, which are excluded from Part 1904 recordkeeping requirements under 29 CFR 1904.5(b)(2)(viii).

The change follows a February 2025 memo in which OSHA said it would no longer cite healthcare employers under 29 CFR 1910.502 for failing to maintain or provide copies of a COVID-19 log, or for failing to report COVID-19-related deaths and hospitalizations.

OSHA had withdrawn most of its COVID-19 emergency temporary standard for healthcare employers in December 2021, leaving only recordkeeping provisions in place.

The agency said it will continue to monitor workplace COVID-19 developments and revisit the policy if conditions change.

The memo is available here.

Employers Expected to Increase Out-of-Pocket Costs for Employees’ Health Plans

Nearly half of large U.S. employers expect to change their medical plans next year in ways that would increase out-of-pocket costs for workers, according to a new Mercer survey.

The survey found 48% of employers with 500 or more employees anticipate raising deductibles, raising copays, or making similar plan design changes in 2027. The moves come as Mercer’s latest National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans found total health benefit costs are expected to rise 6.7% in 2026, pushing the average cost above $18,500 per employee.

The survey revealed many employers are also considering alternative plan designs intended to steer workers toward lower-cost, higher-value care. Mercer said 31% of large employers currently offer or plan to offer at least one nontraditional medical plan in 2027, such as a high-performance network or variable copay plan, while another 38% are considering those approaches.

Employers are also reassessing their relationships with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Mercer said 41% of large employers are evaluating different contracting models offered by major PBMs, while 37% are evaluating new and emerging PBMs.

Other significant findings include that 50% of large employers now cover in vitro fertilization, rising to 77% among employers with 20,000 or more employees. Forty-six percent provide financial support for adoption expenses, and 25% provide support for surrogacy expenses.

Caregiving support has also become more common. Just over half of large employers currently provide, or plan to provide in 2027, at least one childcare-related resource, such as backup childcare or concierge support. Fifty-eight percent provide at least one elder care benefit or resource.

More information about the survey is available here.

OSHA Adds to Safety Framework Program

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised its Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) policy manual, expanding the safety and health management system framework to seven elements. The directive replaces a January 2020 version that outlined four elements of safety and health management systems.

The revised policy aligns VPP requirements with OSHA’s Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs and its construction-focused companion publication. The seven elements are:

  • Management leadership
  • Worker participation
  • Hazard identification and assessment
  • Hazard prevention and control
  • Education and training
  • Program evaluation and improvement
  • Communication and coordination for host employers, contractors and staffing agencies

The directive also creates two additional VPP recognition categories. VPP Elite is available to participants that have maintained VPP Star status for at least 15 consecutive years and meet other criteria. VPP Emeritus is intended for participants with 25 or more years in the program who also meet additional requirements.

VPPs recognize employers and workers that maintain strong safety and health programs and demonstrate low injury rates. Employers seeking participation must apply to OSHA and complete an onsite evaluation by safety and health experts. VPP participants are reevaluated every three to five years and are exempt from OSHA programmed inspections if they maintain their status.

More information is available here.

Employers Projected to Add Workers in 2026

U.S. employers are entering the second half of 2026 with plans to add workers, even as nearly half report they cannot fill open roles, according to a new survey from Express Employment Professionals and The Harris Poll.

According to the survey, 84% of U.S. hiring managers feel positive about their company’s hiring outlook for the remainder of the year, virtually unchanged from 85% in fall 2025. Respondents most often described their outlook as optimistic, confident and hopeful.

Some 60% of hiring managers said their companies plan to increase employee headcount, down from 66% in fall 2025. Nineteen percent said their companies expect significant increases.

However, 44% of hiring managers said their companies have open positions they cannot fill, up from 36% in fall 2025 and the highest share since spring 2023.

Among employers planning to increase headcount, 53% cited higher work volumes, 49% pointed to newly created positions, and 42% said they were replacing workers lost to turnover. Another 37% said they are staffing expansion into new categories or markets.

Nearly one-third (32%) of hiring managers said their companies plan to maintain current staffing levels during the second half of 2026. Seven percent said they expect to reduce employee count.

Cost control was the leading factor cited by companies planning to decrease staff. According to the survey, 72% cited the need to reduce costs, while 44% pointed to greater use of automation, technology or artificial intelligence.

Navigating artificial intelligence in recruitment and hiring processes was the most cited challenge hiring managers anticipate during the second half of 2026, cited by 49% of respondents. Forty-two percent named finding qualified candidates, while 32% cited difficulty planning labor needs amid recession concerns, economic uncertainty, or changes in government policies.

More information about the survey is available here.

Construction Firms Increasing Job Hazard Controls

Nearly two-thirds of construction firms have launched programs aimed at preventing serious injuries and fatalities (SIF), according to a recent survey by the Construction Safety Research Alliance (CSRA).

The findings, published in CSRA’s annual Safety in Practice Report, are based on responses from 72 construction firms and focus on seven safety concepts:

  • SIF prevention programs
  • Lagging indicators, such as total recordable incident rate, used as incentive metrics
  • High-energy control assessment, or HECA, programs
  • Alternative measurement metrics
  • Quality of leading-indicator field guides and scorecards
  • Definitions for alternative controls
  • A new hierarchy of energy controls

The report also found that adoption of HECA programs is rising, with 26% of respondents saying they implemented a program last year, up from 20% in 2024. Another 44% said they plan to implement one, compared with 38% a year earlier.

Meanwhile, a report from the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) shows deaths among building construction workers rose in both number and rate over a recent 13-year period.

The report, drawing on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and CPWR, found that fatalities in building construction rose 54.9% to 220 in 2024 from 142 in 2012.

The report also found the nonfatal injury rate in building construction was 81.1 per 100,000 workers in 2023-24. That was up from 71.7 in 2021-22 but below the 119.7 rate recorded in 2011-12.

Information for downloading the CSRA survey is available here.

The CPWR report is available here.

Survey Reflects Strong Morale Among Workers

Morale among shift workers remains strong despite continued economic uncertainty, according to a recent survey. Nearly 79% of workers surveyed by employee scheduling and workforce management platform Deputy said they ended their shifts feeling positive, while negative sentiment fell to 5.9%, the lowest level recorded since Deputy began tracking the data four years ago.

But the report also points to a growing middle ground. About one in seven workers said they felt simply “okay” at the end of a shift, a category Deputy described as a potential warning sign for employers seeking to prevent disengagement.

Deputy, a workforce management platform for hourly employees, based its survey on more than 731,000 anonymous end-of-shift survey responses collected from May 2025 through April 2026.

According to the survey, younger workers reported some of the highest levels of positive sentiment, while mid-career workers appeared to face the greatest workplace pressure. Older workers reported steadier sentiment patterns over time.

Other key findings include:

Millennials and Gen X workers reported the lowest levels of positivity, which Deputy says may reflect the combined pressures of work, caregiving and financial responsibilities facing many mid-career employees.

Gen Z workers showed both high engagement and higher volatility. The group ranked among the happiest generations overall but also reported the highest levels of negative sentiment.

Hospitality and retail ranked as the happiest major industries, while healthcare remained the least positive for the second consecutive year.

The report noted a sharp reversal for tobacco, e-cigarette and marijuana stores, which moved from one of the happiest workplace categories in 2025 to the unhappiest in 2026. North Dakota also posted one of the largest year-over-year rebounds, rising to 78.16% positive sentiment after recording the nation’s highest negative sentiment a year earlier. Rhode Island, Alaska and Hawaii now lead the country, while Arkansas and New Hampshire report the highest stress levels.

Information for downloading the report is available here.

State News

Business Insurance
Workers Comp Renewals Stay Competitive as Severity Pressures Build
Midyear workers compensation renewals remained favorable for employers nationally, but a proposed double-digit increase in California advisory pure premium rates is raising concerns that claim severity and medical costs could eventually erode soft market conditions. Click here for full article.

Westword
Colorado Tests Out Medical Marijuana on Workers’ Comp
Rankin & Gregory, LLC, a Lancaster County law firm operating as RG Injury Law, is advising injured workers across Pennsylvania following a state Supreme Court ruling that limits insurers’ ability to deny payment for prescription medications. Click here for full article.

WorkersCompensation.com
Mass. Top Court Orders Insurance Commissioner to Explain 14.6% Workers’ Comp Rate Cut
The Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau is a licensed rating organization that is required to file classifications of risks and premiums at least every two years and “on any additional date that the commissioner … may designate.” Click here for full article.

KOAT
Workers’ Compensation Scams in New Mexico
The New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Administration is warning workers across the state to be on alert for scammers posing as agency officials, attorneys, judges, or court representatives in an effort to steal money and personal information. Click here for full article.

ProgramBusiness
New York Announces $1.7 Billion in Workers’ Compensation Savings
New York employers statewide will see an average 22% reduction in workers’ compensation insurance premium rates, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced July 15. The reduction represents an estimated savings of more than $1 billion for businesses, or an average of $1,779 per policyholder. Click here for full article.

New York State
Governor Hochul Announces Over $1.7 Billion In Workers’ Compensation Insurance Savings for Employers and Policyholders Statewide
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that insured employers statewide will see, on average, a 22 percent reduction in workers’ compensation insurance premium rates, an estimated savings of more than $1 billion for businesses or an average of $1,779 per policyholder in New York State. Click here for full article.

WHEC
New York State Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rates Dropping 22% Starting This Fall
New York State employers will see a 22% drop in workers’ compensation insurance premium rates starting Oct. 1. Click here for full article.

The Ohio House of Representatives
Ohio House of Representatives Concurs on Workers’ Compensation Bill
The Ohio House of Representatives today concurred on Senate changes to House Bill 207, sponsored by State Representatives Mike Henne (R-Clayton) and Robert McColley (R-Napoleon). HB 207 addresses issues of workers’ compensation claims that involve motor vehicle accidents caused by a third party. Click here for full article.

WBOC
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Backs Injured Workers on Prescription Costs
Rankin & Gregory, LLC, a Lancaster County law firm operating as RG Injury Law, is advising injured workers across Pennsylvania following a state Supreme Court ruling that limits insurers’ ability to deny payment for prescription medications. Click here for full article.

Civic Media
Scammers Target Injured Wisconsin Workers with Fake Worker’s Compensation Hearings
A scam operation targeting Spanish-speaking injured workers is laying traps in Wisconsinites’ email inboxes. Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development issued an alert this week about a possible “multi-state fraud scheme” that lures targets into fake worker’s compensation hearings to collect fees under false pretenses. Click here for full article.

WMTV
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Warns Community of Worker’s Compensation Scam
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development is warning the community about a possible multi-state fraud scheme that is targeting injured workers. Click here for full article.

General News

The American Prospect
How America Let Its Workers’ Compensation System Fail
The workers’ compensation system is broken. This century-old system, the first component of the social safety net, was created to maintain the income of workers who are hurt on the job, and to ensure they receive adequate medical care. Click here for full article.

CBC
Workers’ Comp System Returned $185M to P.E.I. Employers Since 2015, Even After Workplace Accidents
Prince Edward Island businesses that pay into the Workers Compensation Board received $185 million from the board’s surplus fund over the past 10 years — and some advocates for employees injured on the job say the system needs an overhaul. Click here for full article.

U.S. Department of Labor
Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs Seeks Public Input on Occupational Hearing Loss Evaluation Methods
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs is inviting public comment on the comparative reliability and validity of hearing testing methods and best practices for evaluating occupational hearing loss. Click here for full article.

For Construction Pros
Travelers Report Highlights Injury Risks for New and Older Construction Workers
The Travelers Companies’ 2026 Injury Impact Report found that workplace injuries are becoming more complex and taking longer to heal, particularly among new hires and older employees. Click here for full article.

WorkersCompensation.com 
Situational Awareness: The Skill that Prevents Workplace Injuries
Every employee sees the same workplace. Not every employee notices the same workplace. The difference between employee awareness determines whether someone recognizes a hazard before it becomes an injury. Click here for full article.