Tuesday, NOVEMBER 18, 2025 |
Photo – Governor Mark Gordon – Courtesy State of Wyoming
For the third straight year, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services will give employers in the state a significant break on workers’ compensation costs in 2026.
The Governor has approved a 15 percent decrease in next year’s rate. The cut is designed to support and strengthen Wyoming’s business community.
Following a six percent reduction in 2024 and a 12 percent reduction in 2025, this new decrease brings the total industry base rate reduction over the three-year period to 33 percent. In total, that represents approximately $66 million less in premiums paid by employers. In addition to the base rate reductions, experience-rated employers — those with three or more years of claims experience — may see further reductions in their premiums for the upcoming 2026 rate year.
Governor Gordon said. “By lowering workers’ compensation costs, we are helping employers invest in their workforce, strengthen their operations, and continue to build safe, resilient workplaces across our state.”
The new rates will take effect in January 2026.
Governor Mark Gordon officially released his 2027-28 biennium budget on Monday, following a Friday news conference to discuss the proposal.
The plan, titled “The Essentials,” totals $11.13 billion in recommended appropriations. Some is routine spending, while other items in the document are outliers after the Wyoming Legislature failed to pass Gordon’s supplemental budget in 2025.
In his message to the Legislature, outlined in the first nine pages of the document, Gordon wrote that he grounded his budget in core principles that support strong friendships, strong families, a strong economy and strong communities. He also stated that the function of government is limited to providing the essentials that communities and residents cannot provide on their own.
The governor noted that the general fund portion of his budgets since 2019, when he took office, have increased at an average of 3.5% per year, closely tracking the overall Consumer Price Index.
The state’s financial stability is increasingly reliant on investment strategies, outpacing all other revenue streams. In the most recent revenue report, released earlier this month, it shows to an “all-time record.”
The governor is requesting about $755 million more this year than last year to run state government. The $10.3 billion budget request includes about $3 billion for the Department of Health.
The 2025 Legislative Session convenes on Tuesday, January 14. The session will run through the first week of March.
