SOUTH DAKOTA - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

• A “farm or agricultural laborer,” is someone who engages in physical labor for a farm or agricultural operation. (Hofer v. Redstone Feeders, 870 S.D 659, 663 (2015) (interpreting the term for purposes of the state workers’ compensation statute))

Wages and Overtime

Minimum Wage

• There is a state minimum wage law. S.D. Codified Laws § 60-11-3.
• South Dakota’s hourly minimum wage is:
  • $10.80 effective Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2023.
• The state minimum wage is annually increased based on changes to the consumer price index and announced no later than Oct. 15.
• Agricultural workers are covered by the state minimum wage law with no exceptions.
  

Overtime

There is no state law regarding overtime pay.

State Enforcement Agency

South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation, Division of Labor & Management

Website: https://dlr.sd.gov/ 

Relevant Forms: https://www.state.sd.us/eforms/secure/eforms/E1655V2-ClaimOfUnpaidWagesForm2.pdf

Occupational Safety and Health

Workers’ Compensation

• Agricultural workers in general are excluded from the state workers’ comp law, but some types of workers in certain crops (e.g. workers operating certain machines to process corn, grain and seeds) are covered. (S.D. CODIFIED LAWS § 62-3-15 and § 62-3-16)

State Enforcement Agency:

South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation, Division of Labor & Management, Workers’ Compensation

Website: https://dlr.sd.gov/workers_compensation/default.aspx 
Relevant forms: https://dlr.sd.gov/workers_compensation/forms.aspx

Field Sanitation

• There is no state law regarding field sanitation. 

Federal Enforcement Agency:

US DOL, South Dakota OSHA Office

Website: https://www.osha.gov/contactus/bystate/SD/areaoffice

Pesticide Safety

• There is a state law regarding pesticide safety in agriculture. S.D. Codified Laws § 38-21-14 et seq.
• Suspected pesticide poisoning is not a mandatory reportable illness for health care providers.

State Enforcement Agency:

South Dakota Department of Agriculture, Pesticide Program

Website: http://sdda.sd.gov/ag-services/pesticide-program/

Right to Join Unions and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture

• There is no provision (or judicial interpretation of a provision) in the state constitution that grants farmworkers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation or to engage in collective bargaining.  South Dakota is a “right to work” state (S.D. CONST. Art. VI, § 2) meaning no person can be compelled to join a union as a condition of employment or be required to pay union dues.
• There is no state statute that grants agricultural workers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation or to engage in collective bargaining with agricultural employers. There is a state statute granting these rights but agricultural workers are excluded. (S.D. CODIFIED LAWS § 60-9A-1(3))

State Legal Services Organizations