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South Dakota Labor Laws

August 24th, 2006 Posted by Sarah

The South Dakota labor laws regulate a number of important aspects of employment in the state. In this blog entry I’ll give an overview of a few of these state laws.

Wages and hours of work are a subject of great interest to many employers and employees alike. South Dakota currently has its minimum wage set the same as the federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. Tipped employees may be paid an hourly wage of $2.13, but their total earnings per hour with tips must at least meet the minimum wage. South Dakota labor laws require workers in the state to be paid at least monthly. Employees who quit their jobs or whose employment is terminated must be paid by the next regular payday.

Unlike a number of states, minors in South Dakota are not required to obtain any type of work permit to hold a job. The South Dakota labor laws do set out a variety of regulations, primarily for 14 and 15 year old employees. Minors under 16 are prohibited from working in a variety of hazardous situations, and are also limited in the number of hours they can work in a given day or week. For minors ages 16 and 17, the only regulations are limits on hazardous occupations.

Workers’ compensation and unemployment compensation are another important section of the South Dakota Labor Laws. The unemployment insurance and compensation program is designed to financially help workers who involuntarily lose their lobs, while the workers’ compensation program helps workers who are injured on the job.

South Dakota labor laws make it illegal to force employees to join a union. Potential employees may also not be denied employment based on their membership or non-membership in a union. Coercion and intimidation in regards to union support or membership is also illegal. There are also laws on the books related to collective bargaining and other aspects of labor disputes.

The South Dakota Complete Labor Law poster provides a helpful and up-to-date listing of all the relevant state and federal laws on this topic.