Minimum Wage Will Increase 30 Cents In South Dakota Starting Jan. 1

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Minimum wage workers in South Dakota will soon see bigger paychecks.

The South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation said the minimum wage for nontipped employees will rise by 30 cents on Jan. 1, to $11.50 per hour.

The minimum wage for tipped employees will rise, too, to $5.75 per hour. In South Dakota, the minimum wage for tipped workers is half the minimum for nontipped employees, but wages and tips combined must come to at least the minimum wage of nontipped workers.

The state minimum wage is adjusted annually based on the cost of living as measured by the Consumer Price Index, the state said in a news release on Wednesday. A 2016 state law implemented the annual wage increase based on the CPI.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25, though many states have their own laws requiring higher minimums.

Federal labor law allows businesses to pay tipped workers, like food servers, bartenders and bellhops, less than the minimum wage as long as customer tips make up the difference. Voters in Arizona and Massachusetts will decide ballot measures in November that address the lower minimum for tipped workers.

A proposal in Arizona backed by state Republicans and the Arizona Restaurant Association would change the minimum for tipped workers to 25% less than the regular minimum wage as long as their pay with tips is $2 above that minimum.

Voters in Massachusetts are being asked to eliminate the tiered minimum-wage system entirely by 2029.