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impose certain duties on providers of services under a case management plan of a workers' compensation insurance policy and provide a penalty for a violation thereof.

HB 1242 adds new requirements for companies that provide case management services under workers' compensation insurance policies, including duties they must fulfill in managing injured workers' cases. The bill also establishes penalties for providers who fail to meet these obligations. This change strengthens oversight of how case management services are delivered to injured workers in South Dakota.

prohibit employment contracts restricting competitive health care practices.

South Dakota law currently allows employers to require employees not to compete in the same profession for up to two years after leaving their job, but this bill creates a new exception that makes such restrictions void and unenforceable for health care providers. Health care providers can no longer be legally bound by employment contracts that prevent them from practicing in any geographic area, treating current patients, or consulting with patients affiliated with their former employer after their employment ends. This change allows health care providers more freedom to continue practicing and serving patients without being restricted by non-compete clauses in their employment agreements.

prohibit interference with the right to bodily integrity in contagious disease control.

This bill adds a new protection stating that South Dakota residents have a right to refuse any medical intervention, including vaccines, without facing discrimination in employment, housing, education, or public services. It does allow employers to screen workers for contagious diseases if the screening is directly related to job duties and business needs. The bill essentially prevents the state from requiring medical interventions and bars most entities from penalizing people who refuse them.

recognize hair discrimination as an unfair or discriminatory practice.

This bill adds hair discrimination to South Dakota's existing unfair practice laws by explicitly protecting people from discrimination based on hair texture, hair type, and certain hairstyles like braids, locks, and twists when those characteristics are connected to race. The change clarifies that employers, landlords, and other covered entities cannot discriminate against someone because of how their hair naturally looks or how they style it in ways tied to their racial or ethnic identity.