South Dakota — Workplace Safety

South Dakota does not operate an OSHA-approved state plan. Federal OSHA retains jurisdiction over most private-sector employers and workers in the state. State and local government workers are not covered by federal OSHA and have no state-plan alternative in South Dakota.

Source: OSHA State Plans

South Dakota employers must file a First Report of Injury with the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR) "within seven calendar days, not counting Sundays and legal holidays," after the employer has knowledge of an employee's work injury. This statutory counting rule is critical: if an incident is reported just before a weekend or state holiday, the filing window may extend by two or more days beyond a simple "seven days" due to the exclusion of Sundays and legal holidays. The precise statutory language—"The report shall be filed within seven calendar days, not counting Sundays and legal holidays, after the employer has knowledge of the injury, unless the employer had good cause for failing to file the written report within the seven-day period"—comes directly from SDCL 62-6-2.

The employer must file the First Report of Injury (Form 101) for all injuries or occupational diseases requiring medical attention beyond minor first aid or resulting in employee incapacity, regardless of whether the employee provided written notice within their own (separate) three-business-day window. The employer duty to report arises upon actual or constructive knowledge by any representative, not solely management, and the reporting period excludes Sundays and legal holidays as specified in law. Whether or not the claim is later found compensable, the employer's timely reporting duty is strict.

Filing methods and recordkeeping:

• Employers may file online via the DLR First Report of Injury Management System or submit a fillable PDF paper form, as outlined by Department policy.
• A copy of the form must be provided to the injured employee (per DLR guidance).
• Employers must keep a record of each First Report of Injury for at least four years from the date of injury per SDCL 62-6-1.

Penalties for noncompliance:

• Not filing the First Report of Injury within the seven-day window (excluding Sundays and legal holidays) constitutes a Class 2 misdemeanor. The Department may impose a civil penalty of up to $100 for each violation. Penalty provisions follow SDCL 62-6-2.

Insurer and claim denial deadlines:

• Upon receiving the First Report from the employer, the workers' compensation insurer (or self-insurer) must file its report with DLR within 10 days (Sundays/legal holidays not excluded here). If denying a claim, the insurer must notify the employee and Department with reasons within 20 days, and may petition for up to 30 more days if investigation time is inadequate (SDCL 62-6-3).

Distinction between employer and insurer roles:

• The employer's seven-day window, excluding Sundays/holidays, is separate from insurer timeframes, which do not ignore these days unless stated by further regulations or Department order.

Source: South Dakota Codified Laws § 62-6-2 Source: South Dakota Codified Laws § 62-6-1 Source: South Dakota Codified Laws § 62-6-3 Source: South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation — Employer Rights and Responsibilities

Covered employers in South Dakota must comply with federal OSHA’s injury-and-illness recordkeeping requirements under 29 C.F.R. Part 1904, since there is no OSHA-approved state plan in South Dakota. Federal OSHA’s rules apply to most private sector employers statewide.

Threshold for OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping

Employers with more than 10 employees at any time during the previous calendar year, except those classified in low-hazard industries listed in Appendix A to 29 C.F.R. § 1904, must prepare and maintain OSHA injury and illness records: the OSHA 300 Log, OSHA 300A Summary, and OSHA 301 Incident Report (or equivalent forms). This 10-employee threshold covers the entire enterprise, not just a single location. Employers in industries exempted by OSHA’s industry classification list do not need to keep these records, but must still report work-related fatalities, in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye directly to OSHA (see 29 C.F.R. § 1904.39) even if otherwise exempt from routine recordkeeping.

Retention and updating of OSHA records

Employers required to keep OSHA illness and injury records must retain those records at the worksite for five (5) years following the end of the calendar year that the records pertain to. During this period, the employer must update the OSHA 300 Log (not the 300A Summary or 301 Incident Report) to include newly discovered recordable cases and to reflect changes that occurred to previously recorded cases.

South Dakota has no separate recordkeeping overlay; federal rules apply in full.

Source: 29 C.F.R. §§ 1904.1, 1904.2, 1904.3, 1904.4, and 1904.33

After a thorough review of the South Dakota Codified Laws (SDCL) and the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR) publications, South Dakota does not appear to have any state-specific workplace safety statutes or regulations of general application beyond what is required for workers' compensation injury and illness reporting under SDCL Chapter 62-6. South Dakota is not an OSHA-approved state plan state, so federal OSHA retains jurisdiction over workplace safety for private-sector employers (see the guide section "Federal OSHA jurisdiction"). For public-sector employers, there is no state-run occupational safety and health program comparable to those in state-plan states.

SDCL Title 62 focuses on workers' compensation and associated employer reporting duties, not on general workplace safety standards, inspections, or training mandates. Based on searches of SDCL titles commonly associated with labor or employment (Titles 60–63), there is no statutory requirement for hazard prevention, workplace safety committees, or general safety rules outside the workers' compensation context.

No DLR regulations or Department orders establish mandatory workplace hazard controls or inspection requirements applying broadly to private employers. The Department's regulatory authority in safety is confined to workers' compensation processes. While local governments in South Dakota may, in principle, adopt workplace safety rules for their own employees, there is no evidence of statewide state-mandated standards or preemption in this area as of June 16, 2026.

Source: South Dakota Codified Laws Title 62, Workers’ Compensation Source: South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation — Workers' Compensation

South Dakota does not operate an OSHA-approved state plan under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. For essentially all private-sector employers and employees in the state, workplace safety regulation and enforcement remain exclusively under federal OSHA’s jurisdiction (see OSHA’s State Plan map for confirmation). There are no additional South Dakota statutes or regulations imposing general workplace safety or health standards; federal OSHA’s regulations, including recordkeeping and enforcement mechanisms, apply directly in South Dakota.

There is only one state-level overlay: South Dakota Administrative Rule 47:03:03:01 requires employers to "post and keep posted in a conspicuous place or places in every establishment where employees are employed, such notices as may be prescribed by the department for the protection of employees." This is strictly a posting requirement: it does not obligate employers to maintain safety programs, conduct inspections, or adhere to any state-derived safety standards beyond the poster. The authority for this posting rule is found in SDCL 62-2-11, which permits the Department of Labor and Regulation to adopt rules "designed to promote the safety and welfare of employees."

Public-sector (state and local government) employees in South Dakota are not covered by federal OSHA, and no state-run safety and health program exists for them. For private-sector employers, compliance begins and ends with federal OSHA (substantive rules) plus the single state posting requirement.

Source: South Dakota Administrative Rule 47:03:03:01 Source: OSHA State Plans — South Dakota

State and local government employees in South Dakota are not covered by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), and South Dakota does not operate an OSHA-approved State Plan that would extend OSH Act protections to the public sector.

Federal OSHA exclusion: Under 29 U.S.C. § 652(5), the OSH Act defines "employer" but expressly excludes any State or political subdivision of a State. As a result, OSHA regulations and enforcement do not apply to state, county, municipal, or other local government employers or their employees in South Dakota.

No OSHA State Plan in South Dakota: According to OSHA's official State Plans list, South Dakota remains under direct federal OSHA jurisdiction for private-sector workplaces only. State and local public-sector employees are not covered unless the state operates an OSHA-approved plan, which South Dakota does not.

No separate state-level occupational safety program: A search of the South Dakota Codified Laws (Titles 3, 6, 13, 60–63), Administrative Rules, and Department of Labor and Regulation publications turned up no state statutes or rules that impose general workplace safety or health requirements on state or local government employers, other than workers’ compensation reporting and related obligations. South Dakota does not have a parallel state agency or statutory regime akin to those in OSHA-approved states that would fill this coverage gap as of June 16, 2026.

Result: Public-sector employees in South Dakota—those employed by the state, counties, or municipalities—do not receive workplace safety protections under the OSH Act or from any general state-level occupational safety law. Private-sector employees remain covered by federal OSHA.

Source: 29 U.S.C. § 652(5) Source: OSHA State Plans Source: OSHA State Plan FAQs – Public Sector Coverage Source: South Dakota Codified Laws search