The South Dakota Labor Law Guide

Minimum wage is the lowest hourly rate an employer can legally pay. The federal rate sets a floor, and states, cities, and regions can adopt their own.

South Dakota's statewide rate is $11.85 per hour for most non-exempt employees, adjusted annually for inflation. Local cities and counties do not set separate higher rates.

Tipped employees must receive a cash wage of at least $5.93 per hour (half the $11.85 state minimum, which computes to $5.925). If an employee's tips plus the cash wage do not reach the $11.85 minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference.

South Dakota has no overtime rule of its own beyond the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Employers covered by the FLSA must pay 1.5 times an employee's regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

South Dakota does not have specific meal and rest break laws. If an employer does offer a break, federal rules apply: breaks of 20 minutes or less must be paid and counted as hours worked. Meal periods of 30 minutes or more may be unpaid, provided the employee is completely relieved of all duties.

South Dakota does not require paid leave for private employees. This is a matter of employer policy.

Vacation leave

South Dakota does not require private employers to provide vacation leave.

Sick leave

• Individual employers can set their own sick leave policies at will, including offering none at all.
• Employers who do offer sick leave have to abide by the contractual agreements where those policies are recorded.

Holiday leave

• Businesses in South Dakota are free to establish their own policies on holiday leave.
• South Dakota does not require private employers to provide holiday leave.

Minors under 14

Minors under 14 may not be employed in any factory, workshop, mercantile establishment, or mine. Employment is permitted only outside school hours and before 7:00 PM, and only in limited exceptions such as child actors, newspaper delivery, agricultural work, or working for a parent in a non-hazardous, parent-owned business.

Minors 14-15 years old

To meet the more restrictive federal standards (FLSA), employers should follow these guidelines for 14- and 15-year-olds:

• School weeks: limited to a maximum of 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours per school week.
• Non-school weeks: limited to a maximum of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.
• Time of day: may only work between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM.
• Summer break: from June 1st through Labor Day, evening hours extend to 9:00 PM.

Minors aged 14 and older are legally permitted to dispense gasoline and oil at service stations.

Minors 16-17 years old

There are no state or federal restrictions on the hours 16- and 17-year-olds can work. However, they are strictly prohibited from working in any of the 17 hazardous occupations defined by the U.S. Secretary of Labor.

Hazardous occupations (prohibited for all minors under 18)

Minors may not work in occupations involving:

• Explosives, radioactive substances, or coal mining.
• Logging, sawmilling, or forest fire fighting and prevention.
• Power-driven machinery (woodworking, hoisting apparatus like forklifts, metal-forming, or paper-product machines, including balers).
• Slaughtering, meat-packing, or processing.
• Power-driven bakery machines.
• Roofing, wrecking, demolition, and excavation.