Title 62, WORKERS' COMPENSATION

The department shall order an investigation by the insurer, self - insured employer or administrator of a self - insured plan of the facts contained in a written request made pursuant to § 62-4-47 . The investigation shall be completed within ninety days after receipt of the orde…

All investigative records and files relating to written requests made pursuant to § 62-4-47 are confidential. No disclosure of any such records, files, or other information may be made except as authorized in this section and § 62-4-48 . The names of individuals providing evidenc…

If, after an injury has been sustained, the employee as a result thereof becomes partially incapacitated from pursuing the employee's usual and customary line of employment, or if the employee has been released by the employee's physician from temporary total disability and has n…

If an employee suffers disablement as defined by subdivision 62-8-1(3) or an injury and is unable to return to the employee's usual and customary line of employment, the employee shall receive compensation at the rate provided by § 62-4-3 up to sixty days from the finding of an a…

Any person or party participating in good faith in the making of a written request pursuant to § 62-4-47 is immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed and has the same immunity for participation in any judicial proceeding resulting f…

Any person who knowingly files a fraudulent claim for workers' compensation benefits is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Source: SL 1994, ch 399 .

Terms used in § 62-4-53 mean: (1) "Community," the area within sixty road miles of the employee's residence unless: (a) The employee is physically limited to travel within a lesser distance; (b) Consideration of the wages available within sixty road miles and the cost of commutin…

An employee is permanently totally disabled if the employee's physical condition, in combination with the employee's age, training, and experience and the type of work available in the employee's community, cause the employee to be unable to secure anything more than sporadic emp…

Usual and customary line of employment is to be determined by evaluation of the following factors: (1) The skills or abilities of the person; (2) The length of time the person spent in the type of work engaged in at the time of the injury; (3) The proportion of time the person ha…

Employment is considered suitable, substantial, and gainful if: (1) It returns the employee to no less than eighty-five percent of the employee's prior wage earning capacity; or (2) It returns the employee to employment which equals or exceeds the average prevailing wage for the …

For injuries in the following schedule, an employee shall receive in addition to compensation provided by §§ 62-4-1 , 62-4-3 , and 62-4-5.1 , compensation for the following further periods, subject to the limitations as to rate and amounts fixed in § 62-4-3 , for the specific med…

In case of total disability as defined in subdivision 62-4-6(23), compensation shall be paid at the rate provided by § 62-4-3 for life with an annual increase in the amount of the benefit allowance for each year commencing on the July first that is at least twelve months followin…

The annual increase in benefit allowance provided by § 62-4-7 also applies to any total disability occurring before July 1, 1989. The annual increase in benefit allowance for such a total disability applies prospectively from July 1, 2000. Source: SL 2000, ch 253 , § 1.

In case death occurs as a result of the injury, then if the employee leaves any spouse, child, parent, grandparent, or lineal heir entitled to compensation under §§ 62-4-12 to 62-4-15 , inclusive, the compensation shall be paid at the option of the employer, either to the persona…

Scholarships shall be provided for the spouses and dependent children of employees who die as a result of compensable work-related injuries if the dependents are entitled to benefits pursuant to this chapter. Scholarships are payable to accredited postsecondary education institut…

Except as otherwise provided in §§ 62-5-5 and 62-5-6 , any employer, coming within the compensation provisions of this title, shall secure the payment of compensation to the employer's employees in one of the ways provided by § 62-5-2 or 62-5-3 . If the payment of compensation is…

An employer seeking permission to be a self - insurer, or seeking renewal of its permission to be a self - insurer, shall furnish to the department, on a form required by the department, a bond, written by a surety company authorized by the division of insurance to write surety b…

As used in §§ 62-5-10 to 62-5-16 , inclusive, an irrevocable letter of credit shall be accepted only if it is clean, irrevocable, and contains an evergreen clause. Terms used in §§ 62-5-10 to 62-5-16 , inclusive, mean: (1) "Clean," a letter of credit that is not conditioned on th…

. Surety bonds, irrevocable letters of credit, and documents showing issuance of any irrevocable letter of credit shall be deposited with, and, unless specified by statute, in a form approved by the department. Source: SL 1989, ch 453 , § 4.

Certificates of deposit or approved government securities shall be deposited on behalf of the department by the self-insured employer with the state treasurer or a financial institution approved by the department. Certificates of deposit or approved government securities shall be…

Cash shall be deposited in a financial institution approved by the department, and in the account assigned to the state treasurer. Cash shall be withdrawn only upon written order of the secretary of the Department of Labor and Regulation. Source: SL 1989, ch 453 , § 6; SL 2011, c…

Upon the secretary sending a request to renew, request to post, or request to increase a security deposit to the maximum amount permitted by §§ 62-5-10 to 62-5-16 , inclusive, a perfected security interest is created in the private self-insured's assets in favor of the secretary …

The secretary of the Department of Labor and Regulation may contract with any person, firm, or corporation qualified to administer claims of self-insured employers with respect to adjustment, administration, and management of workers' compensation claims for any self-insured empl…

Any employer may agree, as a condition of the employer's contract for the insurance of compensation and benefits as provided in Title 62, to pay an amount specified in the contract per claim toward the total amount of any claim payable under workers' compensation. The amount of p…

The existence of an insurance contract with a deductible or the fact of payment as a result of a deductible does not affect the requirement of an employer to report an injury or death as required in § 62-6-2 . Source: SL 1990, ch 418 , § 2.

An employer may secure the payment of compensation to any employee by insuring and keeping insured the payment of the compensation with any stock corporation writing workers' compensation insurance or any mutual employer's liability association authorized to transact the business…

If an insured employer chooses a deductible, the insured employer is liable for the amount of the deductible paid for each claim of injury suffered by an employee. The insurer shall pay the entire cost of the employee's loss and then seek reimbursement from the insured employer f…

Any self-insured employer shall provide medical services and health care to injured workers for compensable injuries and diseases under a case management plan that meets the requirements established by rules promulgated by the Department of Labor and Regulation pursuant to chapte…

An employer may secure the payment of compensation to any employee by insuring and keeping insured the payment of the compensation in some association organized for the exchange of reciprocal or interinsurance contracts with each other by individuals, partnerships, or corporation…

If an employer coming under the provisions of this title annually furnishes satisfactory proof to the Department of Labor and Regulation of the employer's solvency and financial ability to pay the compensation required by this title, the employer is relieved from the provisions o…

This state or any municipality or other political subdivision of the state need not furnish any insurance or security as provided by §§ 62-5-1 to 62-5-5 , inclusive, or §§ 62-5-10 to 62-5-12 , inclusive, but may do so if it desires. Source: SL 1923, ch 311 ; SDC 1939, § 64.0106 (…

Any employer other than the state, a municipality, or other political subdivision of this state, who has failed to comply with the provisions of §§ 62-5-1 to 62-5-5 , inclusive, shall be deemed to have elected not to operate under the provisions of this title. Source: SDC 1939, §…

No insurer of any obligation under this title may by himself, herself, or through another, either directly or indirectly, charge, accept, or pay as a commission or compensation for placing or renewing any insurance under this title more than fifteen percent of the premium charged…

If any insurance company operating under this chapter issues a policy of workers' compensation insurance to any employer, the company writing the insurance shall file a certificate thereof with the department. Source: SDC 1939, § 64.0506; SL 2008, ch 278 , § 38.

Every employer coming under the provisions of this title shall keep a record of all injuries, fatal or otherwise, sustained by the employer's employees in the course of their employment. The record shall be completed within seven calendar days, not counting Sundays and legal holi…

An employer covered by the provisions of this title who has knowledge of an injury that requires medical treatment other than minor first aid or that incapacitates the employee for seven or more calendar days shall file a written report with: (1) The Department of Labor and Regul…

The insurer shall file a copy of the report required by § 62-6-2 with the Department of Labor and Regulation within ten days after receipt thereof. The insurer or, if the employer is self-insured, the employer, shall make an investigation of the claim and shall notify the injured…

All books, records, and payrolls of employers coming under this title, showing and in any way referring to the amount of wage expenditure of such employer, shall always be open for inspection by the department or any of its representatives presenting a certificate of authority fr…

Information obtained within the contemplation of this title shall be used for no other purpose than for the information of the department or insurance company with reference to the duties imposed upon the department. However, the department may release information to an injured e…

A refusal on the part of the employer to submit the employer's books, records, or payrolls for the inspection of the department, or its authorized representative presenting written authority from the department, subjects the employer to a penalty of twenty-five dollars for each o…

An employer which complies with this title shall produce, if demanded by any employer or insurer against whom an injured employee has made a workers' compensation claim, the work-related records referring to its employee available for the fifty-two weeks preceding the employee's …

An employee entitled to receive disability payments shall, if requested by the employer, submit himself or herself at the expense of the employer for examination to a duly qualified medical practitioner or surgeon selected by the employer, at a time and place reasonably convenien…

An employee who claims compensation for an injury shall immediately, or as soon thereafter as practical, notify the employer of the occurrence of the injury. Written notice of the injury shall be provided to the employer no later than three business days after its occurrence. The…

If the employer and injured employee or the employee's representative or dependents fail to reach an agreement in regard to compensation under this title, either party may notify the Department of Labor and Regulation and request a hearing according to rules promulgated pursuant …

Any employee of the Department of Labor and Regulation who conducts hearings for workers' compensation claims pursuant to the department's authority to conduct such hearing shall be an attorney, licensed to practice law in South Dakota. Source: SL 1973, ch 2 , § 95; SL 2011, ch 1…

In any contested case arising under the provisions of Title 62, any party, in person or by counsel, may informally request the hearing examiner who, in the ordinary course, would hear the contested case, to disqualify himself or herself. The requesting party may, but is not oblig…