States continued to revisit the scope of workers compensation coverage for stress-related and mental injuries in 2025, with legislatures weighing whether to broaden, narrow or recalibrate benefits.
A story on the trend was the eighth-most-read workers comp-related story on the Business Insurance website in 2025.
New York lawmakers considered and passed a bill that limited the state’s 2024 law allowing for stress-related workers comp claims, making it apply only to certain first responders rather than all workers.
In Virginia, lawmakers considered a 104-week cap on benefits for first responders diagnosed with anxiety or depressive disorders, but the measure, S.B. 1301, failed to make it out of committee. Those diagnosed with job-related post-traumatic stress disorder still have a 500-week cap on benefits.
In Oregon, S.B. 606, which also died in committee, would have amended the PTSD presumption for first responders and dispatchers to include full-time health care workers working within the state’s hospital system.
No. 9 most-read workers comp story.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.