Human Resource Blog

South Dakota Holiday Pay

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In South Dakota, are employers required to offer paid holidays? Does time worked on a holiday count as part of the regular workweek for overtime purposes? Are employees who work on a holiday entitled to a higher rate of pay?

Paid holidays are optional. Most businesses, as a matter of policy, offer 5 to 7 paid holidays annually, but neither South Dakota nor federal law requires it. Neither does any law require an employer to pay a worker extra for working on a holiday.

No federal or state law requires employers to pay higher rates when an employee works on holidays, weekends, or nights. Wages paid for working on a holiday is usually not considered “holiday pay.”

When Human Resources professionals use the term “holiday pay” they generally mean extra pay a worker receives when off on a holiday. A company generally pays a worker 8 hours more than she or he worked that week. It is almost inevitably set at the regular rate, not the overtime rate.

Both South Dakota and federal law stipulate that an employee is legally entitled to overtime for working more than 40 hours in a week. But because holiday pay is given for hours not worked, it may legally be at the regular rate.

For example, if Susan worked 47 hours in a week that had a holiday, she would at most businesses receive 48 hours of straight time plus 7 hours of overtime. In other words, she would get 40 hours of regular time, 8 hours of holiday pay, and 7 hours of overtime. By law she must get 7 hours of overtime.

Assume, on the other hand, that John is off on New Year’s Day. It is a paid holiday where he works. He already worked 40 hours that week. He would get 40 hours at the regular rate and another 8 hours of “holiday pay.” The holiday pay would be at the regular rate, because it was for time not actually worked.

While no South Dakota or federal law requires employers to pay extra to employees who work on holidays, some companies do pay premiums. Union contracts often require premiums be paid. If a company pays time-and-a-half for hours worked on holidays, Susan would get 30 hours at the regular rate, 10 hours at the holiday rate, and 7 hours of overtime. JH