Who is covered by the South Dakota Workers’ Compensation Law?

According to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation:

The South Dakota Worker’s Compensation Law covers all employers with only limited exceptions:

• Domestic servants (unless working for an employer more than 20 hours in any calendar week and for more than six weeks in any 13-week period)
• Farm or agricultural labor
• One whose employment is not in the usual course of trade, business, occupation or profession of the employer (independent contractors, including real estate agents and owner-operators of trucks certified as independent contractors by the Department of Labor and Regulation)
• Certain elected officials of the state or any subdivision of government
• Workfare participants

Are their financial incentives for safe work site in South Dakota?

According to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation:

You could save money on your insurance by participating in one of several plans. Each of these plans rewards you for maintaining a safe work site and making few or no claims for work-related injuries.

Merit Rating Plan – This plan is designed for small employers who are not currently experience rated or pay a premium less than $3,750 per year. It provides you with insurance premium discounts up to 10 percent based on your immediate past three years claims experience. This plan is applicable to both voluntary and assigned risk policies.

Experience Rated Plan – This plan is designed for larger employers who pay more than $3,750 per year in premiums. This plan is specific to your individual experience. Premiums may be credited or debited based on past claims and the cost of those claims. It is also applicable to both voluntary and assigned risk policies.

Scheduled Rating Plan – This plan is designed for experience-rated employers insured in the voluntary insurance market. It provides for premium discounts of up to 24 percent based on your willingness to participate in a safety plan prescribed by your insurance company. Insurers are not required to offer this plan, so you may need to shop around to find a company that does. There are more than 200 insurance companies providing coverage in the voluntary insurance market in South Dakota.

What are the laws regarding returning to work and workers’ compensation in South Dakota?

According to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation:

If the medical practitioner says your employee can return to work for part-time or modified work and you can accommodate the restrictions, state law requires the employee to accept the employment. If he or she refuses to accept light-duty work, your employee risks the loss of some or all of his or her workers’ compensation benefits.

If your employee is released to part-time or modified work and is earning less than what he or she was earning at the time of the injury, the employee may be entitled to temporary partial disability benefits. Temporary partial disability benefits are calculated as half the difference between the average amount the employee was earning before the injury and the average amount the employee is earning or is able to earn in some suitable employment after the injury.

The total compensation for earnings and workers’ compensation benefits may not be less than the amount received for temporary total disability, unless the employee refuses suitable employment.

If you are unable to accommodate an employee’s light-duty restrictions and do not offer work to the employee, he or she will still receive temporary partial disability benefits, but at a rate equal to the amount received for temporary total disability.