Legislative Updates - February 3, 2026

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California
Form 300A Summary
On January 29, 2026, the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) issued Release 2026-12 to remind employers to post their 2025 annual summary of work-related injuries and illnesses by February 1, 2026. Employers must display the summary in a visible and easily accessible area, at each worksite, so employees can review work-related injuries and illnesses from the previous year. Employers are required to complete and post Form 300A even if no work-related injuries or illnesses occurred.

Instructions and form templates are available on Cal/OSHA’s Record Keeping Overview, which provides guidance on completing both the log of work-related injuries and illnesses (Form 300) and the annual summary (Form 300A).

California
Workers’ Compensation
On January 29, 2026, the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) issued Release 2026-13 providing a Progress Report on the DWC’s Independent Bill Review (IBR) program. IBR is a process used to resolve billing disputes for medical treatment and medical-legal services provided to injured workers.

California
Workplace Notice
On January 30, 2026, the California Department of Industrial Relations issued Release 2026-14 to remind employers about the Workplace Know Your Rights Act, which requires employers to annually provide workers with clear information about their workplace rights. The new law took effect on January 1, 2026 and requires employers to provide yearly notice to workers by February 1 explaining key rights under California’s labor laws. The written notice must be provided to all workers, regardless of their immigration status and shared through common methods such as email, text message or in person, in languages normally used at the workplace. The notice can be found here.

California
Los Angeles County
Effective July 1, 2026, the minimum wage in the County of Los Angeles is raised to $18.47 per hour, up from $17.81 per hour.

California
City of Los Angeles
Effective July 1, 2026, the minimum wage in the City of Los Angeles is raised to $18.42 per hour, up from $17.80 per hour.

Colorado
Scam Alert
On January 28, 2026, the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) issued a News Release to warn about an email phishing scam designed to look like it was sent from a DORA employee. The email has the subject line: “Re: Action Required - DORA Enforcement Notice #93742” and appears to be sent by a fabricated DORA employee, Cassy T. Sullivan. DORA urged recipients to not click on any of the links and report it as phishing. The State of Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology is aware of this phishing attempt and is investigating.

Colorado
Noncompete/Nonsolicitation Agreements
Effective immediately, the minimum earnings required for a noncompete or nonsolicitation agreement to be enforceable in Colorado is increased for inflation as follows:

• For noncompete agreements - $130,014.00 (up from $127,091.00)
• For nonsolicitation agreements - $78,008.40 (up from $76,254.60)

The threshold is based on the state Department of Labor’s definition of a “highly compensated” worker, which is updated annually. CO 2026 PAY CALC Order/CO 2026 Temporary PAY CALC ORDER

Hawaii
Auto Insurance
On January 30, 2026, the Hawaii Insurance Division made available Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on Auto Insurance Limits. The FAQs can be found here.

Illinois
Public Insurance Adjusters
On January 26, 2026, the Illinois Department of Insurance issued Bulletin 2026-02 mandating that public insurance adjusters cease working with unlicensed lead generators and maintain records of the names and license numbers of any third parties involved in soliciting contracts.

Maine
Noncompete Agreements
Effective immediately, the Maine restriction on noncompete agreements applies to employees earning $63,840 or less per year (increased from $62,600).

Maine’s threshold is 400% of the federal poverty level. US Department of Health and Human Services 2026 Federal Poverty Guidelines

Maryland
Prescription Coverage
On January 29, 2026, the Maryland Insurance Administration issued Bulletin 26-5 announcing the rescission of Bulletin 26-4. The rescission allows health issuers to return to their standard prescription refill schedules and coverage policies. Insurance Commissioner Marie Grant had ordered all health insurers to waive time limits on prescription refills and to authorize payment for at least 30-day supplies of medications, regardless of when prescriptions had last been filled.

Massachusetts
Prior Authorization
On January 14, 2026, Gov. Maura Healey announced that the Massachusetts Division of Insurance will be issuing regulations that will prohibit health insurers from requiring prior authorization for services that include emergency visits, primary care, chronic disease management, occupational and physical therapy and certain prescription drugs.

In addition, diabetic patients will no longer need insurance approval for devices, medications or services related to their condition. A patient switching insurers midtreatment would have their existing authorizations honored for at least three months. Insurers will be required to respond to urgent requests, such as for a multiple sclerosis patient needing steroid injections during a relapse, within 24 hours.

Minnesota
Disaster Assistance
On January 26, 2026, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) reminded eligible businesses, private nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters of the February 20, 2026 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset losses from physical damage caused by the Skyline Tower Apartment Complex fire and severe water damage that occurred October 26, 2025. Click here to apply and to obtain additional information.

Affected Counties: Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Washington

Mississippi
Claims Assistance
On January 27, 2026, the Mississippi Insurance Department issued a Release to provide direction to individuals and businesses in order to assist in filing a claim due to a disaster. The release highlights the steps to take when filing a claim that includes interacting with an adjuster and the importance of cooperating with the insurance company to ensure they have the correct data, forms and documents.

Mississippi
Disaster Assistance
On January 28, 2026, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) reminded small businesses and private nonprofit organizations of the February 23, 2026 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses due to the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding that occurred March 14, 2025 – March 15, 2025. Click here to apply and to obtain additional information.

Affected Counties: Amite, Attala, Calhoun, Carroll, Choctaw, Covington, Forrest, Grenada, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Lawrence, Lee, Leflore, Lincoln, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Newton, Pearl River, Pike, Prentiss, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tishomingo, Walthall, Warren, Washington, Webster, Yalobusha, Yazoo

Missouri
Catastrophe/Disaster Coordination
On January 28, 2026, the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance issued Bulletin 26-02 requesting that real or property insurers provide current contact information for representatives who can communicate directly with state leadership following catastrophic events. The contacts would serve as liaisons for high-level discussions about disaster response, logistics coordination and regulatory matters.

New Jersey
Discrimination
On January 16, 2026, Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) issued guidance explaining how language discrimination can violate the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) when it is tied to one or more protected characteristics under the LAD, such as national origin, ancestry, nationality, race, religion and disability. The guidance explains what language discrimination is and how language discrimination can violate the LAD, and it provides examples illustrating the LAD’s application to language discrimination in employment, housing and places open to the public.

New Jersey
Retirement Savings
Effective April 1, 2026, employers with 10 or more employees must register for and participate in the New Jersey Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program. Employers with fewer than 10 employees may participate voluntarily.

The rules also specify that employees have the ability to change their contribution levels at any time and employers must implement that change no less than once per calendar quarter.

North Dakota
Dental Insurance
On January 29, 2026, the North Dakota Insurance & Securities Department issued Bulletin 2026-1 establishing loss ratio reporting requirements for dental insurers. The bulletin announced that dental insurers are now mandated to provide loss ratio reports through the state’s electronic System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing by April 30 each year. Insurers must organize their submissions by market type, providing specific metrics including plan details, policyholder counts, member months as well as calculated dental loss ratios.

For the inaugural 2026 reporting year, insurers must submit data covering both the 2024 and 2025 calendar years. In subsequent years, companies will report data from the calendar year preceding the April deadline.

Oregon
Disability Benefits
On January 29, 2026, the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division issued Bulletin 347 updating guidance on how insurers should calculate whether injured workers are unable to engage in “gainful occupation.” The bulletin, which replaces guidance from February 2025, provides a formula that factors in workers’ pre-injury wages and federal poverty guidelines. The approach differs depending on when the injury occurred.

Oregon
Noncompete Agreements
Effective immediately, the Oregon salary and commission threshold required for  noncompete agreements to be valid is increased from $116,427.00 to $119,541.00.

The threshold is adjusted annually by the Bureau of Labor and Industry (BOLI) based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region. BOLI TABLE – Minimum Salary and Commission Requirements

Puerto Rico
Health Insurance Coverage
On January 14, 2026, the Puerto Rico Office of the Commissioner of Insurance issued Circular Letter CC-2026-2053-D amending Puerto Rico’s 2008 tobacco treatment protocol to require health insurers to report their medical coverage for smoking cessation services to the Department of Health’s Division of Prevention, Control of Tobacco and Oral Health. The report must include information about medications available to subscribers seeking treatment for tobacco use and dependence. Effective immediately.

Puerto Rico
Paid Leave
On January 27, 2026, Gov. Jennifer Gonzalez signed Executive Order 2026-005, declaring a state of emergency because of the influenza epidemic in Puerto Rico. Epidemic levels are reached when there are six consecutive weeks of cases above the epidemiological threshold (2,183 reported cases during the 2025/2026 season).

Because of the Puerto Rico Vacation and Sick Leave Act (Act No. 180-1998), non-exempt employees are entitled to a maximum of five additional paid working days of special emergency leave in case the employee is affected by the illness or epidemic that caused the state of emergency to be declared. The following conditions must be met to be eligible for leave:

1. The employee must be infected with, or suspected of being infected with, the flu
2. The employee must first use all accrued sick leave
3. Then use all other available paid leave to which the employee is entitled (vacation       leave)
4. Only after using all other leave benefits will the employee be eligible for the five additional paid working days

Rhode Island
Noncompete Agreements
Effective January 1, 2026, the Rhode Island restriction on noncompete agreements applies to employees earning $39,900.00 or less per year (increased from $39,125.00). Rhode Island’s threshold is 250% of the federal poverty level. US Department of Health and Human Services 2026 Federal Poverty Guidelines

South Carolina
Alcohol Server Training
On January 27, 2026, the South Carolina Department of Revenue issued Information Letter 26-7, granting a 60-day enforcement delay until March 2, 2026, for the state’s new mandatory alcohol server training requirement. Restaurants and bars must ensure employees, managers and supervisors who serve alcohol on-premises at least 10 hours per week complete approved certification training.

Employees who’ve worked for at least 30 days before March 2 must obtain certification by that date, while those hired after that must comply within 30 days of their start date. Establishments must maintain physical or electronic copies of all employee certificates and produce them upon request by state authorities.

Tennessee
Sales Tax
On January 14, 2026, the Tennessee Department of Revenue issued Notice 26-01 providing guidance to retailers on how to collect sales tax now that the penny is no longer being produced. In the notice, the department clarified that “For sales and use tax collection, applicable law requires retailers to continue calculating sales tax to the exact cent, regardless of the payment method used by the customer.” For example, even if the total comes to $32.38 and the retailer rounds it to $32.40 to avoid the need for pennies, the state still expects $2.88 in tax.

Texas
Health Insurance Plans
On January 30, 2026, the Texas Department of Insurance issued Adoption Rule 2026-9776. The new regulations implement changes to dispute resolution and emergency medical services.

Billing Disputes
Under the new rules, Health plans and out-of-network providers must request mediation within 180 days of when the initial payment is received. This includes cases where the payment is zero because charges were applied to a patient’s deductible.

Emergency Medical Services
The new regulations permit political subdivisions that set ambulance rates to adjust them annually, but caps those increases at the lower of 2% (the current Medicare Ambulance Inflation Factor) or 10%.

Explanation of Benefits
Health plans must include specific dispute resolution language in EOBs sent to providers and clearly identify plan types (“ERISA Opt-In,” “Higher Ed Plan”) to facilitate proper dispute filing.

Washington
Private Equity Report
On January 14, 2026, the Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner issued a data snapshot report of private equity, trends and investments in Washington’s healthcare system. Click here to access the report.

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