The California Workers' Compensation Institute posted a summary of bills enacted during the 2026 session that may be of interest to the workers' compensation community.

The big news from the session was Gov. Gavin Newsom enacting a budget trailer bill that included major reforms to the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund and also permanently amended the deadline for the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board to act on petitions for reconsideration.

Newsom signed SB 171 in July.

"SB 171 narrows SIBTF eligibility by requiring that preexisting disabilities be 'labor-disabling' (i.e., they caused a loss of earnings or interfered with the employee’s ability to work), and that they be supported by contemporaneous medical evidence," CWCI said. "It also requires multiple impairment ratings to be combined using the (Permanent Disability Rating Schedule's) Combined Values Chart (rather than simply adding them together), mandates that claims be supported by med-legal evidence developed during the underlying workers’ comp claim and establishes filing deadlines for new applications."

The changes apply to most pending claims, but those filed before July 1, 2020, or that have reached specified procedural milestones were grandfathered under the prior rules.

SB 171 also amended Labor Code Section 5909 to permanently establish that the WCAB has 60 days from the date it receives a case file to act on a petition for reconsideration.

Legislation enacted in 2024 provided that a petition was deemed denied if the WCAB did not act on it within 60 days after receiving the case file. That provision was set to sunset July 1 and revert to the older law that deemed a petition for reconsideration to be denied if the WCAB didn't act on it within 60 days of filing.

Lawmakers this year also passed legislation to continue giving employers the option of using prepaid debit cards to deliver indemnity benefits.

AB 1683 made permanent the pilot program launched in 2018, which was scheduled to sunset at the start of 2027.

The Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation said regulatory uncertainty, start-up costs and fraud concerns discouraged broader participation in the pilot, but it concluded that those issues did not pose significant problems in practice and that lawmakers should make it permanent.

"The bill followed a CHSWC analysis that found that prepaid debit cards are a convenient payment option for injured workers and payers," CWCI said. "State Fund is currently the only insurer using the program and since mid-2020 has enrolled about 10,000 injured workers and distributed more than $214 million in benefits via prepaid cards."

CWCI also highlighted several bills addressing technology, including SB 574, which creates restrictions and safeguards for attorneys, arbitrators and others who may be using generative artificial intelligence.

"The bill prohibits attorneys from delegating the practice of law to generative AI, and when they use AI, requires them to protect confidential and nonpublic information, verify the accuracy of AI-generated content and correct material errors or 'hallucinations,'" CWCI said. "It also prohibits attorneys from filing court papers containing citations they have not personally verified, including AI-generated citations; prohibits arbitrators from delegating any part of their decision-making to generative AI or relying on AI-generated information outside the arbitration record without disclosure to the parties; requires the Judicial Council to revisit its judicial administration standards in light of generative AI developments; and establishes procedures for investigating and resolving complaints involving the ethical use of AI by (alternative dispute resolution) providers."

AB 1883, meanwhile, creates a $500 penalty for employers that use surveillance technology to perform emotional recognition. The bill prohibits employers from using technology to "recognize, infer or predict an employee’s emotional state or to collect neural data by measuring an employee’s brain or nervous system activity," CWCI explained.

The measure does not prohibit other forms of video and audio surveillance, time tracking, geolocation or similar technology.

Other bills highlighted by CWCI include:

• SB 716, which increases potential local government penalties for health and safety violations and, though not technically a workers' compensation bill, CWCI said that the violations it covers involve workplace health and safety conditions that could contribute to occupational injuries or illnesses.
• SB 1046 requires the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to propose a safety standard by Jan. 1, 2030, to protect against occupational exposure to pollution in outdoor workplaces.
• SB 1209 gives the Department of Insurance more authority to ensure that carriers correct violations of applicable statutes, regulations and other requirements identified during examinations.
• SB 1227 requires the Department of Industrial Relations and the Department of Human Resources to design and develop an apprenticeship pilot program by the start of 2029 to address DIR staffing shortages, including those at Cal/OSHA and in the Division of Workers' Compensation.
• SB 1444 eliminated the requirement for firefighters working at commercial airports to hold "Fire Control 5" certification from the State Fire Marshal to qualify for presumptions that conditions including cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder arose from employment.
• AB 2039 creates a $25,000 civil penalty for attorney capping schemes and requires the California State Bar to use summary disbarment procedures against an attorney convicted of felony capping when the court has found that attorney acted knowingly and for financial gain.
• AB 2297 authorizes courts to order restitution when a defendant enters a diversion program, even if the person is not ultimately convicted. CWCI said the bill doesn't directly change workers’ compensation benefits or claims procedures. But because California law recognizes restitution rights in criminal cases involving workers’ comp fraud, it could affect fraud cases when an insurer or other party suffers a financial loss.
• AB 2321 requires the Cal/OSHA Bureau of Investigation to immediately review reports involving allegations of serious violations rather than review them in a timely manner.