This data tracks the changes to the major medical and wage-replacement replacement benefits in workers’ comp.  

To track the impact of the workers compensation nationwide, ProPublica assigned a starting value for each state by combining a ranking of average statutory benefits conducted by Actuarial & Technical Solutions of Bohemia, N.Y., and a report from the U.S. Department of Labor that monitored how many recommendations of a 1972 presidential commission on workers’ comp that each state was following. ProPublica then analyzed state reform laws, using data from the National Council on Compensation Insurance Annual Statistical Bulletin, which rates the effects of legislation on benefit payments. In addition, ProPublica consulted reports from the Workers Compensation Research Institute and conducted interviews with stakeholders to determine how the changes compared to the historical norms provided by state workers’ comp systems.

States may have adopted additional legislation that is not included here because it didn’t affect the core benefits.

ProPublica used this data in our graphic Workers’ Compensation Reforms by State.