Minimum Wage in South Dakota

Frequently Asked Questions about Minimum Wage in South Dakota

What is the minimum wage in South Dakota?

The minimum wage in South Dakota is $7.25. What this means is that most employers are obligated to pay their employees at least that amount per hour as compensation for their work. However, while we tend to think of minimum wage law as iron clad, it is in truth more like a loose guideline, as there are numerous exceptions to it, particularly for employees who receive tips.

What is minimum wage in South Dakota for tipped employees?

Since a tipped employee such as a waiter or waitress will receive a significant amount of money besides their salary, their employer is not obligated to follow the regular minimum wage law. Instead, there is a special minimum wage in South Dakota for tipped employees: only $2.13.

However, this low amount isn’t as bad as it seems. A special provision states that if an employee’s cash wage plus their tips does not equal at least the regular minimum wage in South Dakota of $7.25, their employer is obligated to make up the difference for them.

Who is exempt from minimum wage laws?

There are several types of employees besides tipped workers who may not receive the minimum wage in South Dakota, though tipped workers are certainly the largest contingent. These other groups include all of the following:

• Workers under 20. They may instead receive what is called an opportunity wage of only $4.25 for the first ninety days of working. After this three-month period, they should be paid at least the student wage.

• Students. Any student working part-time during high school or college may only be paid 85% of the minimum wage in South Dakota, or $6.16 per hour, so long as they work no more than twenty hours per week.

• Apprentices. Since their employment also constitutes their education, they may receive only a percent of the minimum wage. However, the longer they work there, the higher the percentage will grow, until eventually they will need to be paid at least the minimum wage in South Dakota.

• Individuals with disabilities. Not all disabled people may be paid less than the minimum wage in South Dakota, but only those whose disabilities decrease the amount that they are able to work. To make these individuals still competitive in the workplace, the government allows the to be paid a percentage of the minimum wage equal to the amount of normal work that they are now able to do.

Are there any plans to change the minimum wage in South Dakota?

As of 2012, there was no legislation planned to increase the minimum wage in South Dakota.

How much will you earn from working the minimum wage in South Dakota?

If you earn only the minimum wage, then you will receive $58.00 per day, or $15,080 per year. This amount is just a few hundred dollars more than the federal poverty line, and it does not take into account funds lost to state and federal taxes.