Starting July 1, 2026, South Dakota will make employment contracts void if they prevent community services providers who work with people with developmental disabilities from working in that field after leaving their job. The law creates an exception allowing employers to prevent former employees from directly recruiting their current clients, but only within reasonable geographic and time limits.
The amendment corrects a statutory reference from "§ 27B-1-11 17" to "§ 27B-1-17" in the section addressing restrictions on community services providers—this is a technical fix to cite the correct statute defining "community services provider." The substantive provisions of the bill remain unchanged; this is purely a cleanup correction that ensures the law references the right legal definition.
Signed by the Governor S.J. 488
Delivered to the Governor S.J. 441
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 478
Signed by the President S.J. 416
House of Representatives Do Pass Passed, YEAS 64, NAYS 0. H.J. 446
Health and Human Services Certified uncontested, placed on consent
Health and Human Services Do Pass Passed, YEAS 12, NAYS 0.
Health and Human Services Scheduled for hearing
House of Representatives Referred to House Health and Human Services H.J. 262
First Reading House H.J. 247
Senate Do Pass Passed, YEAS 32, NAYS 2. S.J. 200
Health and Human Services Do Pass Passed, YEAS 7, NAYS 0. S.J. 10
Health and Human Services Scheduled for hearing
First read in Senate and referred to Senate Health and Human Services S.J. 139
Prime sponsor · Rep.
R
Prime sponsor · Sen.
R
Cosponsors
Do Pass
Health and Human Services — Do Pass
Do Pass
Health and Human Services — Do Pass