Workers’ Compensation Strategies Trending in 2026
Across Mississippi and throughout the Gulf Coast and Midwest, returning injured employees to work is an increasing trend for workers’ compensation matters in 2026. Employers and risk managers are reinforcing light duty and modified positions as RTW reduces disability exposure, keeps employees connected to the workforce, and stabilizes business operations. Yet, a disturbing countertrend has emerged: in some cases, judges are using wages from the open labor market to calculate compensation awards, rather than the actual wages an employee is earning in the position to which they’ve returned. Ultimately, this tactic undermines the value of accommodations and creates uncertainty for employers committed to doing the right thing.
What’s changing in workers’ compensation, and how can Mississippi, Gulf Coast, and Midwest employers strategically protect claim outcomes?
What’s Driving the “Open Market” Focus
In 2026, employers can anticipate encountering more claims in which wage-loss awards are tied to theoretical “open labor market” earnings rather than the actual wages paid in bona fide accommodated roles. This shift is rooted in a growing emphasis on generalized earning capacity (what an injured worker could end up earning in the broader market) versus the concrete earnings documented in the return-to-work position.
When awards look outward to hypothetical wages, the financial benefits of RTW can be diluted, predictability erodes, and the message to the workforce becomes muddled. Moreover, accommodation efforts may not fully translate into reduced wage-loss exposure. In an operational lens, this can introduce new uncertainty into reserve setting, premium pressure, and settlement strategy, particularly for employers who have invested in robust RTW programs designed to safely and efficiently bring employees back to productive work.
Why RTW Still Matters in 2026
- Human and business value: RTW preserves work identity, supports recovery, curbs indemnity exposure, and helps reengage teams.
- Claims momentum: RTW generates reliable data, such as actual duties, hours, and wages, that support negotiating credibility and factual clarity.
- Culture and retention: Accommodations demonstrate commitment to workers, their safety and fairness, which can boost morale and reduce turnover.
An Employer Playbook to Protect Against “Open Market” Wage Awards
- Make the job offer unassailable
- Put it in writing: Define the accommodated role, essential functions, restrictions, schedule, wage rate, and duration (temporary vs. permanent).
- Confirm medical alignment: Tie duties precisely to current restrictions and keep physician notes updated after each appointment.
- Document acceptance or refusal: Capture the employee’s response and any reason for refusal.
- Build an upstanding wage record
- Pay consistency: Ensure the offered rate, hours, and overtime opportunities are consistent with similarly situated light-duty roles.
- Track actual earnings: Maintain clear pay stubs, time records, and any periods of reduced hours, and explain why (e.g., medical appointments, production variability).
- Review and adjust: Reassess duties and wage rate if restrictions change; document each adjustment.
- Strengthen the medical narrative
- Specific work capacity statements: Request clear physician opinions on what the employee can do now and over the next 30, 60, and 90 days or confirmation of permanency.
- Functional evaluation: Use FCEs and targeted job descriptions to tie restrictions to measurable tasks, such as lift limits or standing/sitting tolerance.
- Show the job is real, not pretextual
- Genuine productivity: Track tasks completed, training received, and performance metrics to show meaningful work (not “make-work”).
- Comparable roles: If possible, show similar accommodated positions offered to others with restrictions to demonstrate consistency, fairness and necessity of the work being performed.
- Strategically use vocational evidence
- Labor market context: If awards risk being tethered to “open market” wages, assemble vocational data showing why your offered role and wage are appropriate given the employee’s education, experience, seniority, restrictions, and local job availability.
- Progression plan: Document pathways from light duty to regular duty, with actionable timelines and skill-building steps.
- Ensure policy and practice are aligned
- RTW policy refresh: Update your written RTW program for 2026, aligning HR, safety, and risk teams on protocols and procedures.
- Supervisor training: Equip front-line leaders to implement restrictions and compliance, prevent re-injury, and document performance objectively.
- Communication ladder: Maintain regular check-ins with the employee and adjust duties as restrictions evolve.
- Prepare your claim file as if it will be scrutinized
- Centralized documentation: Keep job offers, medical notes, FCEs, wage records, and attendance in a single, organized file.
- Consistent messaging: Ensure HR, supervisors, and claims representatives describe duties and pay consistently across communications and testimony.
- Settlement posture: Leverage the strength of your RTW to negotiate – from verified earnings, to credible medical narratives, to clear vocational rationale.
Regional Considerations for Mississippi, Gulf Coast, and Midwest Employers
In Mississippi, wage and job-availability dynamics vary significantly by both industry and locality, which makes it essential to build vocational support and wage-setting practices centered on the realities of the market rather than generic assumptions. Along the Gulf Coast, seasonal demand and variable hours can complicate earnings patterns in accommodated roles; clear documentation that ties fluctuations to legitimate business cycles can help defend actual wages as the most precise measure of post-injury earning capacity. For employers in the Midwest, production facilities and logistics operations benefit from detailed job analyses that translate medical restrictions into quantifiable tasks and output.
Throughout Galloway’s service area, success hinges on credible local data, real duties, and verified earnings, so the claim record reflects the employee’s true capacity and compensation rather than a hypothetical figure from the broader market.
Bottom Line for Employers
Returning injured employees to work remains a best practice in 2026, especially in Mississippi and throughout the Gulf Coast and Midwest. However, with increased attention to “open labor market” wages in awards, employers must elevate documentation, medical alignment, and vocational support. A comprehensive RTW program that proves the job is real, the wages are appropriate, and the path forward is credible will help preserve the value of accommodation and protect workers’ compensation claim outcomes.
Disclaimer: This material is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute legal advice, not does it create a client-lawyer relationship between Galloway and any recipient. Recipients should consult with counsel before taking any action based on the information contained within this material. This material may be considered attorney advertising in some jurisdictions.
