During the 2024 regular legislative session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 430, bipartisan legislation reforming the state’s workers compensation system. Working together throughout the summer of 2023, the business community and labor organizations proposed the reforms.

Governor Laura Kelly ceremonially signed the reform into law, which takes effect on July 1, 2024.

“These are common-sense reforms that will ensure both Kansas employers and employees benefit from our state’s workers compensation system,” NFIB State Director Dan Murray said. “By protecting our small business owners from potentially nuclear decisions and frivolous litigation, these reforms take tremendous strides in maintaining the entire system’s integrity. I want to thank our Leadership Council Member Phil Hayes for his efforts. Working with stakeholders to find comprehensive reform is no easy task, and Phil deserves a lot of credit for getting this bill across the finish line.”

Background:

During the summer of 2023, representatives from the Kansas Chamber, the Kansas Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the Kansas Self-Insurers Association (KSIA), International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association (KTLA), and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) worked together to find compromise on changes to the system for both the employer and the injured worker that could be presented to the Kansas Legislature. CLICK HERE to learn more.