The Governor shall appoint a State Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council, composed of nine members, four representing employees, two of whom shall be from recommendations submitted by the South Dakota Federation of Labor. No employee representative may be a member of a personnel department. Four shall represent employers. The ninth member appointed shall serve as chair. The members may not be all of the same political party. Expenses of council members shall be paid by the Department of Labor and Regulation. The length of terms is three years with no more than three expiring each year. Members shall serve until a new appointment is made by the Governor. The secretary of labor and regulation is a nonvoting member. Five of the nine voting members of the council are a quorum for meetings. Any recommendations by the advisory council shall be by majority vote of the nine voting members.

The terms of members begin on October thirty-first of the calendar year in which the Governor appoints the member, unless otherwise designated by the Governor. The appointee’s term expires on October thirtieth in the third year of appointment.

Ask a workers compensation law question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified workers compensation lawyers.
Claims, medical treatment, disability payments, termination, and more.
Get help with workers' comp forms, benefits, or employers' responsibilities
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

The council shall aid the Department of Labor and Regulation in reviewing the workers’ compensation program as to its content, adequacy, and effectiveness and make recommendations for improvement. The council shall meet as frequently as necessary but not less than twice each year. The council shall make reports of its meetings that shall include a record of council discussions, including all issues voted upon and the vote count, and council recommendations. The council shall make an annual report to the Governor and Legislature by December thirty-first of each year. The department shall make the reports available to any interested persons or groups.

Source: SL 1992, ch 364, § 1; SL 1994, ch 396, § 1; SL 1999, ch 261, § 3; SL 2003, ch 272 (Ex. Ord. 03-1), § 20; SL 2011, ch 1 (Ex. Ord. 11-1), §§ 33, 162, eff. Apr. 12, 2011; SL 2012, ch 16, § 3; SL 2013, ch 176, § 3; SL 2019, ch 218, § 1.