In preparing the report, Sedgwick sourced trends and predictions from the company’s top experts, with a focus on guiding organizations through emerging risks in the workforce absence landscape. “Today’s rapidly changing and increasingly complex environment requires employers to stay agile and informed,” said Marwan Shiblaq, Sedgwick’s President of Workforce Absence. Sedgwick experts’ top predictions for 2026 include:More federal regulation: Many agencies have received less funding and had their regulatory authority diminished by courts. “Regulatory developments won’t wait, and neither should employers looking to stay ahead of the curve,” said David Setkzorn, Sedgwick SVP and Workforce Absence and Disability Practice Leader. “The Sedgwick team of disability and absence experts continually tracks changes in federal, state, and local rules and provides actionable insights that turn uncertainty into clarity.