New hiring laws in South Dakota for 2027: a $12.30 minimum wage, English and visa rules for CDL drivers, disability services non-competes and licensing changes

As of November 2026, South Dakota's 2026 session changed hiring in a few specific places, all from July 1, 2026, the default date for regular session acts under SDCL 2-14-16. SB 164 makes English proficiency a condition of a commercial driver license and makes driving a commercial vehicle without it a misdemeanor, and SB 180 limits non-domiciled CDLs to H-2A, H-2B and E-2 visa holders. SB 153 makes non-competes voidable for community services providers who serve people with developmental disabilities, HB 1180 lets business owners agree not to compete for up to three years after selling their interest, and HB 1035 adds routes to a CPA certificate. On January 1, 2027 the minimum wage rises to $12.30 an hour.

South Dakota passed no pay transparency, salary history, ban-the-box, AI hiring or E-Verify law in 2026. Each item below links to the bill on the Legislature's site or to the Department of Labor and Regulation. The standing checklist (Reemployment Assistance registration, workers' compensation, Form I-9 and 20-day new-hire reporting) is in our South Dakota hiring hub; this page is the dated list of what is new.

Which South Dakota hiring laws changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

South Dakota acts, the 2027 minimum wage and the federal rules that apply to South Dakota employers, sorted by date.

What is South Dakota's minimum wage in 2027?

The Department of Labor and Regulation says that "effective Jan. 1, 2027, the minimum wage for non-tipped employees in South Dakota will be $12.30/hour," up from $11.85, and the minimum for tipped employees will be $6.15 an hour, up from $5.925. The rate rises each year "at the same rate as the cost of living as measured in the Consumer Price Index," rounded up to the nearest five cents, and "the minimum wage cannot decrease." Offers and job ads for hourly roles that start in 2027 should use the new floor, and tipped employers must still make sure tips bring each employee up to the full minimum.

What do South Dakota's 2026 CDL laws mean for hiring drivers?

Two bills change who can hold a commercial driver license, both from July 1, 2026. SB 164, signed March 11, 2026, says a person may not be issued a CDL unless the person "has demonstrated proficiency in the English language, as required in the general qualifications for commercial motor vehicle drivers" in 49 CFR 391.11, which asks whether a driver can "read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records." The licensing department must give all knowledge and skills tests in English. When a CDL holder is cited for a traffic offense or involved in an accident, a law enforcement officer must determine whether the driver has sufficient English proficiency, and an officer acting under SDCL 32-2-7 may cite the driver under the federal rule and place the driver out of service. Operating a commercial vehicle without sufficient English proficiency is a Class 2 misdemeanor, or a Class 1 misdemeanor for a second offense.

SB 180, signed March 10, 2026, rewrites SDCL 32-12A-13 on non-domiciled CDLs. An applicant may only be someone with "lawful, employment-based nonimmigrant status in the H-2A, H-2B, or E-2 visa category" (or a person domiciled in a U.S. territory holding one of those visas), who presents an unexpired foreign passport and I-94 at every issuance, transfer, renewal and upgrade. The state must check the SAVE system, the license must expire with the I-94 or within one year, whichever is sooner, renewal is in person, the word "nondomiciled" appears on the license, and it is downgraded if the holder becomes ineligible.

For carriers: test English with the four abilities in the federal rule during the road test, and apply that test to every candidate rather than to people with accents or foreign birthplaces. A CDL is a List B identity document for Form I-9, not proof of work authorization, and an employer may not ask a driver for more or different I-9 documents because of citizenship or national origin; see the I-9 List A, B and C documents.

Which non-compete rules changed in South Dakota?

South Dakota already lets employees agree not to compete for up to two years under SDCL 53-9-11 and has made covenants against most licensed health care practitioners voidable since 2023. Two 2026 acts add to that:

• Disability services workers. SB 153 amends SDCL 53-9-11.2 so that a provision "entered into on or after July 1, 2026, is voidable if it restricts a community services provider, as defined in § 27B-1-17, from employment in or otherwise providing services to individuals with developmental disabilities" after the job or contract ends. Clauses tied to the sale of a practice and customer non-solicitation within the SDCL 53-9-11 limits are still allowed.
• Owners of jointly held businesses. HB 1180 lets a business entity's governing documents, or a contract to buy, sell or transfer an ownership interest, bar an owner from engaging in the same or similar business "within the specified geographic area in which the entity conducts business, for a period not exceeding three years from the date of transfer."

When screening a candidate for a disability services role, ask the date the non-compete was signed; the full test, including the practitioner rule, is in South Dakota non-compete law.

What changed for licensed professionals and schools?

• CPAs. Under HB 1035, an applicant with a graduate degree that qualifies for the examination needs one year of experience in accounting; one with a bachelor's degree needs "one year of experience in accounting and thirty semester credit hours of education, in addition to" the degree, or "two years of experience in accounting." Experience may come from government, industry, academia or public practice and must be verified by a licensee.
• Compacts. HB 1146 adopts the physician assistant licensure compact, HB 1148 the respiratory care interstate compact and HB 1149 the athletic trainer licensure compact; HB 1028 adds a criminal background check for multistate licensure under the social work compact. Compact practice starts only when each commission issues privileges or licenses, so confirm before setting a start date.
• Cosmetology. HB 1194 confirms that the Cosmetology Commission may credit work experience toward school hours for out-of-state applicants and requires it to adopt rules.
• Schools. HB 1003 amends SDCL 13-10-12 to 13-10-14. As amended, each person over 18 hired by an accredited school submits to state and FBI fingerprint checks before entering service or on a temporary basis pending results, and no one convicted of a crime of violence, a sex offense or narcotics trafficking may be employed directly or by contract.
• Apprenticeships. SB 63 creates a state office of apprenticeship in the Department of Labor and Regulation to register programs under the federal rules in 29 CFR part 29, but the act takes effect only when the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship formally recognizes the new agency.

Which federal hiring changes apply in South Dakota?

• Form I-9. The USCIS Form I-9 page lists the 01/20/25 edition as current and the 08/01/23 edition as valid until its 05/31/2027 expiration.
• Work permits. The DHS final rule effective October 14, 2026 ends automatic EAD extensions in the affected categories; see I-9 and the EAD automatic extension.
• E-Verify. Since August 11, 2026 the Status Change Report lists invalidated EADs in five categories, to be reverified on Supplement B without a new case, and records last updated on or before December 31, 2016 are disposed of on January 11, 2027.
• Federal contractors and criminal history. The OFCCP's Executive Order 11246 rules ended October 26, 2026, and the EEOC rescinded its 2012 criminal records guidance on October 28, 2026. Title VII still applies, and a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) remains a sound way to decide.

What did not change in South Dakota?

• E-Verify is still not required of private employers; the 2026 attempt to require it did not pass. See E-Verify requirements in South Dakota.
• No pay range or salary history law; see South Dakota pay transparency and South Dakota salary history.
• No ban-the-box law; see South Dakota ban-the-box and South Dakota background check laws.
• Drug testing still turns on the medical cannabis law; see South Dakota drug testing laws.
• Recording interviews still needs one party's consent; see South Dakota recording consent for interviews.

What should South Dakota employers do before January 1, 2027?

1. Reprice hourly roles for $12.30 and the $6.15 tipped cash wage from January 1, 2027.
2. Add an English proficiency check to every commercial driver's road test, based on 49 CFR 391.11(b)(2), and check the status and expiry of any non-domiciled CDL against SB 180.
3. Remove non-competes from new agreements with disability services staff, and keep signing dates of older ones.
4. Update CPA job requirements so ads do not demand 150 credit hours, and watch the PA, respiratory care and athletic trainer compact commissions for when out-of-state licensees can start under a privilege.
5. Check I-9 editions and work permit dates, and download any E-Verify cases from 2016 or earlier by January 8, 2027.
6. Update criminal history procedures so they no longer cite the 2012 EEOC guidance.

What does this mean for staffing agencies in South Dakota?

South Dakota does not license staffing agencies, as our South Dakota staffing agency guide explains, so the 2026 changes reach agencies through their workers. Driver agencies need the English proficiency check and should track the I-94 expiry of any H-2A or H-2B driver with a non-domiciled CDL, because the license ends with it. Agencies that employ direct support staff for disability service providers should drop non-competes from agreements signed from July 1, 2026, and temporary workers' pay must meet $12.30 from January 1, 2027. Employer of record rules are in employer of record in South Dakota, and other states' 2027 changes are in new hiring laws for 2027.