In the continuing the efforts to reform the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act, the Louisiana Legislature enacted both substantive and procedural changes to the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act during its 2026 legislative session that went into effect on August 1, 2026.
HB185
House Bill 185 provided the most significant substantive change to the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act this legislative session in allowing employees of independent contractors to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. HB 185 amended La. Rev. Stat. 23:1201 not only to clarify the definition of an independent contractor, but also to expand the definition to include the employees of an independent contractor who are also substantially engaged in manual labor.
Typically, an independent contractor is excluded from coverage of the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act. However, if an independent contractor is performing work that is part of the principal’s business, trade or occupation and a substantial part of that work time is spent in performing manual labor, the independent contractor will be viewed by the courts as an “employee” of the principal for workers’ compensation purposes and is known as the “manual labor exception”.
In order to establish the manual labor exception, the independent contractor must show: 1) the existence of an independent contractor relationship; 2) the performance of manual labor in carrying out the contract; 3) the independent contractor spent a substantial portion of the work time performing manual labor; and 4) the work is part of the principal’s business, trade or occupation.
La. Rev. Stat. 23:1021(7)(a). Section 1021(7)(b) has now expanded the coverage to include employees of the independent contractor. Therefore, the employee of the independent contractor must meet these same requirements to establish that the manual labor exception applies to his or her work for the independent contractor to recover benefits under the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act.
HB537
House Bill 537 repealed La. Rev. Stat. 23:1294 and 36:309(B)(2) in their entirety, doing away with the Workers’ Compensation Advisory panel that previously advised the Legislature on matters relative to proposed workers’ compensation legislation.
SB382
Senate Bill 382 was passed to amend La. Rev. Stat. 23:1034.2(C)(1) to require updates to the Louisiana Medical Fee Schedule no later than July 1, 2029. Despite the need for adjustments and updates to the Fee Schedule, no changes were made during the 2026 Legislative session. However, by establishing a deadline the legislature appears to recognize the need to update the Medical Fee Schedule.
Procedural Changes
The 2026 Louisiana Legislature also made several procedural changes to the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act in several bills: HB456, SB162 and SB408.
HB456
House Bill 456 amended La. Rev. Stat. 23:1311 and 1314 to require a petitioner to allege acts and information that would put the other parties on notice as to what happened, the issues to be addressed and the relief being sought. Specifically, La. Rev. Stat. 23:1311 was amended to require a statement regarding the essential facts of the accident or equivalent information that would put the parties on notice with respect to the identity of the parties. In addition, the petition must set forth “sufficient factual information to put the parties on notice as to the specific compensation benefit that has not been paid, is not being provided or the entitlement which is disputed.” Finally, the prayer for relief must set forth a concise statement of the specific benefits or other relief being sought by the petitioner.
The effect of this amendment is to make all parties abundantly clear as to the nature of the accident and what issues are in dispute. Having this information at the outset will streamline the litigation, could assist in resolving the disputes at an early stage, and potentially reduce litigation costs caused by protracted discovery.
La. Rev. Stat. 23:1314 was amended to allow an employer to file a disputed claim against an employee to controvert benefits or concerning any other dispute arising out of a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. Historically, the employer was only allowed to file a disputed claim to assert an action for fraud under La. Rev. Stat. 23:1208 or to appeal a decision of the Louisiana Medical Director determining that requested medical treatment was in compliance with the Louisiana Medical Treatment Guidelines (i.e. presumptively medically reasonable and necessary). As a result, the employer’s remedy was to file a Notice of Controversion, terminate benefits and wait for the employee to file a disputed claim, which usually resulted in an award of penalties and attorney’s fees.
With the amendment, the employer can now file a disputed claim regarding any issue including issues of disability, causation and the need for further medical treatment, and seek judicial determination of the issues before terminating benefits; thereby avoiding an award of penalties and attorney’s fees.
SB162
Senate Bill 162 amended La. Rev. Stat. 23:1203.1(K) to give a more uniform system in appealing decisions relative to disputed claims for medical treatment. The changes are more in line with appealing trial court’s judgment to an appellate court. Section 1203.1(K) requires the party who has filed an appeal of the Medical Director’s decision on a Disputed Claim for Medical Treatment to notify the Medical Director within ten days of the filing. Upon receipt of the notice, the Medical Director must compile and forward the complete record used to decide the issue to the trial court within fifteen days of the notice of appeal; the record is also available to the parties.
The amendment also allows for either party to submit new evidence at the hearing on the appeal. If new evidence is submitted, the claim must be remanded to the Medical Director for reconsideration, and the Medical Director must issue a new decision after consideration of the additional evidence within thirty days of the remand. If no new decision is issued within the requisite thirty days, the trial court must decide the appeal based upon the entire record.
The Medical Treatment Guidelines and the appeal process were initially enacted to make the process of determining whether requested medical treatment is reasonable and necessary more efficient and speedier. Although the appellate courts have agreed that additional evidence could be considered by the trial court at the appeal hearing, the legislature has now codified that right. However, by requiring a remand and “second look” and a “second decision” by the Medical Director, it seems as though the process of determining reasonableness and necessity of medical treatment has once again been slowed down.
SB408
Senate Bill 408 originally addressed changes to the Medical Fee Schedule and exempted medical bill disputes from the regular process of filing a Disputed Claim for Compensation and from an award of penalties and attorney’s fees. The amendments to the bill removed these issues but added the following provisions from House Bill 780 and 1101.
La. R.S. 23:1201.1 was amended to allow the LWC-WC-Form 1002, Notice of Initial Payment, Modification, Suspension or Termination, to be issued no later than three business days from the date of the initial payment, modification, suspension or termination rather than the same day that the form is completed. The Form 1002 is not required to be sent via certified mail only and can also be sent by commercial carrier, email or hand delivery. Employers now have ten days to provide any additional benefits in response to a Notice of Disagreement in order to avoid penalties and attorney’s fees as opposed to the previous seven days.
The Legislature also sought to reform the Preliminary Determination provisions of Section 1201.1 by proclaiming the procedure to be favored and by instructing the assistant secretary to create a standard notice of objection form to facilitate the new requirement of the filing of an objection to the request for Preliminary Determination within twenty-one business days of receiving documents relied upon in requesting the Preliminary Determination. In addition, Judges must now issue decisions following a Preliminary Determination hearing within fifteen business days from the date of the hearing.
The Preliminary Determination process was implemented so that a party, typically the employer, could request a preliminary determination on the disputed issues, and if certain conditions are met, the court would issue a preliminary decision, which would also assist the parties in strengthening any weakness in their case or defense. As it is not a final decision, either party could continue to the full discovery phase and proceed to trial.
It was also designed to allow the employer to provisionally accept the claim, but proceed to defend the claim through trial and avoid an award of penalties and attorney’s fees if successful. However, if the employer and carrier did not comply with the exact provisions in filing the initial LWC-WC- 1002, Notice of Initial Payment or Controversion and any subsequent Notice of Controversion, Modification, Suspension or Termination, the request for a Preliminary Determination was struck. As such, parties have been unable to take advantage of the procedure. Hopefully, with the current changes, this procedure will be of more value to the parties.
Takeaway
Overall, the 2026 Legislative Session brought some needed changes to the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act, but the need for further reform continues.