labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Every South Dakota employer should update their labor law posters by December 31, 2007.

The 2008 South Dakota labor law posters contain some important changes. For one thing, they reflect changes in the federal minimum wage that occurred in 2007.

In 2008, by state law, every South Dakota employer is required to display the following posters:

• Sexual Harassment 
• Unemployment Insurance 
• Workplace Safety

Popular locations for posters include break rooms, beside the employee time clock or in other employees-only areas.

In addition, South Dakota employers are require to display a number of federal labor law posters including:

• USERRA - Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act 
• Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law 
• Federal Minimum Wage 
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act 
• Family and Medical Leave Act 
• OSHA-Job Safety & Health Protection

State minimum wages vary across the nation. For the past two years, the Oregon minimum wage has been the second highest in the nation. In 2008, it will go to the fourth highest, when California and Massachusetts increase their state rates from $7.50 per hour to $8.00 per hour. This is just one of the changes that will be reflected in the new labor law posters for the year.

South Dakota labor law posters serve as a handy reference on a wide range of topics, from unemployment benefits to child labor laws.

Labor law posters provide important information for employees and supervisors alike. For example, from state to state, the laws controlling minimum wage for tipped workers and overtime pay show a wide variation. Complete updates are available on each state’s labor law posters.

When it comes to minimum wage rates for tipped workers, some states don’t have their own laws, so they are automatically covered by the federal law. Some are slightly more generous, while others equal or are nearly equal to the states’ own minimum wages. Kansas, on the other hand, at $1.59 an hour, is the lowest.

The federal rate is $2.13 an hour. Nebraska, Kentucky, and Indiana follow the federal rate. Michigan’s on the other hand is $2.65. Massachusetts is $2.63, Wisconsin is $2.33, and North Carolina is $2.43.

But there is no “tip credit” for employers in Washington State. In other words, tipped workers’ minimum wage is the same as for other workers. It will be $8.07 an hour starting January 1. In Hawaii, it’s just 25 cents an hour below the usual minimum wage. Tipped workers get $7 an hour, while other workers get $7.25. Colorado’s rate in 2008 will be $4.02 an hour.

States either have no overtime law, in which case they follow the federal law, or they pass laws building on or mirroring the federal law.

Federal law offers a premium of 1.5 times the normal hourly rate for any time over 40 hours. States without their own laws include Delaware, Arizona, Idaho, Georgia, and Florida. Workers not normally covered by federal overtime law are not entitled to overtime in these states.

Nebraska mirrors the federal law but extends coverage to all businesses with 4 or more employees. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Michigan also mirror federal law – 1.5 times normal after 40 hours. But Kansas’ overtime does not kick in until 46 hours, and Minnesota’s not until 48.

Kentucky provides overtime after 40 hours or on the 7^th consecutive workday regardless of number of hours. In Colorado, it kicks in after 12 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Only restaurant and hotel workers may collect overtime on the 7^th consecutive day of work in Connecticut.

California has the most generous plan. Employees get overtime after working 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Anyone working 7 consecutive days gets overtime on the 7^th day. Double-time is paid after an employee works 12 hours in a day, or after 8 hours on the 7^th consecutive work day.

Would you like to know about the final USERRA regulations that the Department of Labor made public recently?  I can assist you with that.

All of you employers out there should take the opportunity to make sure your South Dakota USERRA posters have all the latest information.  One popular question is regarding promotions for returning service members.  As far as rights, benefits, and seniority, a military worker who comes back to their civilian job should not lose their place.  For example, if John worked for a company for 8 years and Jane worked for 6, John should be promoted before Jane (if promotions are based solely on seniority).  Even if John goes away on active military duty for two years, he still has seniority over Jane.

Let’s say that John went away and many things changed in the business since he left.  He is, under USERRA, entitled to the necessary training that applies to his position.  If the position no longer exists, or if he is unable to perform the necessary skills with the new changes in the company, he may be entitled to another position within the company. 

A military leave of absence entitles service members to the same benefits as anyone else who is able to take a leave.  That means a service member can have the same benefits as a person on disability or maternity leave. 

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act maintains all of the original rights of reinstatement.  Job protection is a given for any military member who has to be away serving for up to five years.  They have a right to return to their civilian jobs when the return.  The years are, of course, cumulative, which means that the years are counted together even if they are not consecutive.  Disabled military members may be allowed another two years of job protection. 

Deaths and injuries are just part of the story behind the figures of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. OSHA (the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration) points out that these staggering accident rates result in time off work, lost wages, lawsuits, and high-priced medical bills. And the numbers do not even reflect statistics for work in the public sector, with such high-risk jobs as police work, paramedical service, and firefighting.

Nobody likes workplace injuries. Not workers. Not management.  They are painful and costly. Yet accidents on the job, and their resulting injuries – and sometimes deaths – are not unusual.

The statistics on slips, trips and falls can be chilling. In 2005 alone (the last year for which numbers are available), 5,702 workers nationwide died in workplace accidents. They were just a few of the 4,214,200 on-the-job accidents for that year. Altogether, the accidents resulted in more than a million lost workdays – a total of 1,234,700. The figures are strictly for the private sector, and don’t even reflect the statistics of high-risk public jobs like police work, firefighting, and paramedical work, among others.

OSHA has developed a Workplace Safety Pack, which offers an easy to understand guide to taking safety precautions on the job. Included in the pack are Workplace Ergonomics as well as three safety posters – the Workstation Safety Tips poster, the Lifting Safely poster, and the Slips, Trips and Falls poster.

The last poster is particularly important when you consider that, tragically,  slips, trips, and falls are second only to car related accidents when it comes to deaths on the job. In 2005 alone, for example, 732 people at work died after a fall. Driving accidents resulted in 1,258 deaths on the job.

2005 is the most recent year for which safety statistics are available for the workplace.

In South Dakota there is a lot of pride and diligence in our state. We take a lot of pride in our work and what we accomplish as a state. The state also takes a lot of pride in protecting and serving its workers by requiring South Dakota State Mandatory Posters. These are great tools that as employers you are required to have and post in order to be in compliance with labor laws. These South Dakota State Mandatory Posters are great in that they keep both the employer and the employee informed of the prime labor laws. These are great things to benefit all. However, these South Dakota State Mandatory Posters cannot be effective if they are not posted. It is also required that they be updated as new or updated laws come into effect that are on your posters. These items work only as well as the employer wants them too for they can be viewed as a great benefit since they will keep all of us both better informed but aware as well.

There are some very specific laws that are necessary for your South Dakota State Mandatory Poster. These laws are Sexual Harassment, Workplace Safety and Unemployment Insurance. These are just three laws but they are very important to all ends of the spectrum in the workplace. These will keep you informed as both an employer and employee of your rights and responsibilities according to the state laws. Of course these are only as good as the most current poster.

To keep yourself clean and aware by keeping a current South Dakota State Mandatory Poster up and updated for you and your employees. It will keep you in compliance and keep all of your employees aware at the same time. So keep it updated and check it frequently to keep yourself out of trouble and your employees happy.

Hello and thank you for allowing me to provide information about state and federal posting requirements, helping to answer possible questions pertaining to the South Dakota Posters, along with the way in which they can help get labor law and employee rights information to workers and managers. Employers are required by law to display the most up-to-date posters at the worksite or place of business, which is why using South Dakota Posters is such a huge benefit in allowing employers to meet state and federal requirements.

One of the key things to remember is that it is the employer’s responsibility to have current South Dakota Posters on display in an area where employees commonly gather or meet on a regular basis, such as in the lunchroom or in a break room. By doing this, not only do the employees get the important information they need, but the company is also covered if labor law posters are the focus of a labor inspection.

South Dakota has three important state posting requirements: Sexual Harassment, Unemployment Insurance, and Workplace Safety. For example, the Sexual Harassment law in South Dakota protects the rights of workers to be free from sexual harassment and to be treated equally on the job. As you can only imagine, this can be very important information for workers. Placing current South Dakota Posters on display is one exceptional way of sending the message out to each employee. In addition, the Workplace Safety requirement generally refers to the employee’s right to have a jobsite where they will be free of injury and able to do their work in a safe environment. This too is information that employees need. Once again, the convenience of having up-to-date South Dakota Posters on display is essential.

Federal posting requirements include Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), Job Safety and Health Protection, Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law, Family and Medical Leave Act, Federal Minimum Wage and Employee Polygraph Protection Act. Among these requirements, the USERRA law is relatively new and protects the rights of those who choose military service but may not make a career of it. Under this law, the worker who goes into the armed forces, reserves, or National Guard can return to claim their civilian job after their military service is completed.

Now might be an excellent time for the employer and the workers to look at the South Dakota Posters on display to see if any changes have been made that would require the posters to be updated. As laws change, sometimes with minor amendments each year, it could be very important to have the most up-to-date South Dakota Posters available to employees at the worksite or place of business.