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provide a cause of action for certain employees that are required to receive a vaccination as a condition of employment and to declare an emergency.

Employees who are required by their employer to get vaccinated as a condition of employment can now sue their employer for damages if they claim the vaccination caused them injury or illness. The bill removes any legal protections or liability limits employers might otherwise have against such lawsuits. This applies to all employers in South Dakota, including private companies, the state government, and local governments.

clarify when a delivery facilitation contractor may be considered an independent contractor.

This bill establishes clear rules for when delivery drivers working for app-based platforms (like DoorDash or Uber Eats) can legally be classified as independent contractors rather than employees. Under this law, delivery platforms can treat drivers as independent contractors only if they have a written agreement, don't force drivers to work set hours, allow drivers to work for competitors, and can't fire drivers just for declining delivery requests. This protects gig workers from overly restrictive employment practices while allowing platforms to maintain contractor relationships.

extend unemployment insurance benefits to individuals who are unemployed because of their refusal to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination.

HB1224 would allow workers who lose their jobs because they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccination to still receive unemployment insurance benefits. Currently, South Dakota law typically denies unemployment benefits to people who are fired for not following employer requirements, but this bill would create an exception for vaccine refusal specifically.

establish employees' exemptions from employer-imposed COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

South Dakota employers cannot require their employees to receive COVID-19 vaccinations if the employee provides a doctor's letter stating the vaccine is medically unsafe, a signed statement objecting on religious or moral grounds, or proof of immunity from a prior COVID-19 infection. This new exemption does not apply to South Dakota National Guard members, who remain subject to federal vaccine requirements.

recognize hair discrimination as an unfair or discriminatory practice.

South Dakota employers can no longer refuse to hire, train, or promote someone based on their hair texture, type, or hairstyle—making hair discrimination an illegal employment practice. Employers can only enforce hair-related rules if they're genuinely needed for health and safety reasons, applied equally to everyone, and arrived at in good faith. The South Dakota National Guard is exempt from this rule and can maintain its own grooming standards.

provide protections and workplace safety for meat and poultry processing workers.

This bill creates new workplace safety requirements for meat and poultry processing facilities with at least 100 workers, requiring them to establish committees to develop and implement worker safety programs. It also establishes a meatpacking industry worker rights coordinator position to oversee these protections and defines which businesses must comply (slaughterhouses, processing plants, and egg production facilities, but not grocery stores or restaurants). The law expands the definition of "worker" to include temporary workers and contractors, ensuring broader safety protections across the processing facility workforce.

protect an individual's conscience from entities requiring the COVID-19 vaccine.

South Dakota employers that require employees to receive COVID-19 vaccines must now allow workers to claim medical, religious, or natural immunity exemptions instead. Employees can use these exemptions by submitting a form to their employer—medical exemptions require a doctor's certification of a health condition that contraindicates vaccination, while religious exemptions only require a signed statement that the employee objects on religious, moral, or ethical grounds.

modify the amount of time to report an injury for workers' compensation.

This bill extends the deadline for workers to report job injuries to their employer from three business days to thirty calendar days. The change gives injured workers more time to notify their employer in writing, though they must still inform their employer immediately or as soon as practical about the injury itself.

establish certain pay provisions for state employees working shifts longer than eight hours a day.

State employees who work shifts longer than 8 hours will now receive holiday pay based on their actual shift length rather than a standard 8-hour day, ensuring they don't lose pay when a holiday falls on a day they normally work extended hours. Additionally, non-salaried state employees scheduled to work 12-hour or longer shifts must receive overtime pay for any hours worked beyond 36 hours in a single week, protecting workers on extended shift schedules from working excessive hours without additional compensation.

Celebrating the Howard High School football team for winning the Class 9A state championship.

This resolution celebrates the Howard High School football team for winning the Class 9A state championship. The bill makes technical amendments to unrelated South Dakota statutes on motorized scooters and transportation matters, but these appear to be procedural adjustments rather than substantive policy changes.

remove collective bargaining for school district employees.

This bill removes school district employees from South Dakota's public employee collective bargaining law, meaning teachers and other school workers would no longer have the right to negotiate contracts as a group. Currently, school district employees are included in the definition of "public employees" who can collectively bargain, but this change would exclude them from that protection.

prohibit the enforcement of contracts limiting competition on certain matters of conscience.

This bill makes non-compete agreements unenforceable if an employer required an employee to get a COVID-19 vaccination against the employee's religious or moral beliefs. The change allows employees to work for competitors or start rival businesses after leaving their job, even if they previously signed a contract promising not to do so, as long as they can claim the vaccine mandate violated their conscience.

revise holiday pay for state employees.

This bill updates how state employees receive holiday pay by clarifying that employees qualify for holiday benefits if they work at least one shift or use approved paid leave during the week a holiday falls. The bill also specifies that when hourly employees work on a holiday, they receive whichever is greater: eight hours of pay or the actual hours worked, with part-time employees receiving a proportional amount based on their schedule.

provide for an inalienable right to bodily integrity.

This bill creates a new legal right guaranteeing that South Dakotans cannot be forced to accept medical treatments and cannot face discrimination or lose benefits for refusing medical interventions. It also prohibits giving preferential treatment to people who accept medical procedures. The law essentially protects medical choice by preventing employers, insurers, schools, and other entities from penalizing individuals who decline vaccines, medications, or other medical interventions.