2018 South Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2018 South Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage is $4.425.
Effective 2018-01-01Source: State Minimum Wage to Increase Jan. 1 (South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation)Verified 2026-08-31
Who it applies to
South Dakota employers with tipped employees
What changed this year, and why
South Dakota's tipped minimum cash wage was set at $4.425 per hour, effective January 1, 2018. This amount is half the regular state minimum wage. Employers must ensure that wages plus tips combined equal at least the full minimum wage.
Common questions
- What is the tipped minimum cash wage in South Dakota for 2018?
- The minimum cash wage for tipped employees in South Dakota is $4.425 per hour, effective January 1, 2018.
- Must wages and tips combined reach the full minimum wage?
- Yes. Employers must ensure that the cash wage plus tips received equals at least the full state minimum wage.
Who counts as a tipped employee
South Dakota's Department of Labor & Regulation defines the hourly minimum wage for tipped employees at $4.425 for 2018. This is exactly half of the state's full minimum wage for non-tipped employees. Any worker in South Dakota who regularly receives tips as part of their job falls under this lower cash wage rate, though the combination of direct wages and tips must still reach at least the full state minimum wage when combined.
The hourly minimum wage for tipped employees will be $4.425/hour effective Jan. 1, 2018, half the minimum wage for non-tipped employees.
State Minimum Wage to Increase Jan. 1 (South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
South Dakota does not use a formal tip credit the way federal rules describe one. Instead, the state sets a lower direct cash wage for tipped workers — $4.425 an hour in 2018, exactly half of the full state minimum wage for non-tipped employees. The employer must pay at least that cash amount directly. On top of the cash wage, the employee's tips must bring total earnings up to the full state minimum wage. If tips are not enough in a given pay period, the employer is responsible for making up the shortfall so the worker still receives the full minimum wage. South Dakota does not require employers to provide a detailed federal-style notice before paying the tipped cash wage; the rule is straightforward: pay the $4.425 cash wage and ensure total earnings reach the full minimum wage.
The hourly minimum wage for tipped employees will be $4.425/hour effective Jan. 1, 2018, half the minimum wage for non-tipped employees. Wages and tips combined must equal at least the minimum wage.
State Minimum Wage to Increase Jan. 1 (South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
South Dakota's minimum-wage law makes clear that the $4.425 hourly cash wage for tipped employees is only the starting point. The Department of Labor & Regulation states that wages and tips combined must equal at least the full state minimum wage. If a tipped worker's tips in a given workweek do not bridge the gap between the $4.425 direct cash wage and the full minimum, the employer must pay the difference out of its own funds. The worker is guaranteed the full minimum wage every pay period regardless of how large or small the tips turn out to be.
The hourly minimum wage for tipped employees will be $4.425/hour effective Jan. 1, 2018, half the minimum wage for non-tipped employees. Wages and tips combined must equal at least the minimum wage.
State Minimum Wage to Increase Jan. 1 (South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
South Dakota does not impose a separate tip-credit notice requirement on employers beyond what the state's minimum-wage statute requires. The Department of Labor & Regulation's 2017 press release explains that the tipped cash wage of $4.425 an hour is simply half of the full state minimum wage, and that wages and tips combined must equal at least the minimum wage. Because the state does not use a formal tip-credit mechanism — it just sets a lower direct cash wage and requires the employer to top off earnings to the full minimum — there is no pre-credit notice obligation comparable to the federal rule. Employers in South Dakota must still pay the $4.425 cash wage and ensure total earnings reach at least the full minimum wage each pay period.
The hourly minimum wage for tipped employees will be $4.425/hour effective Jan. 1, 2018, half the minimum wage for non-tipped employees. Wages and tips combined must equal at least the minimum wage.
State Minimum Wage to Increase Jan. 1 (South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
South Dakota's minimum-wage law does not draw a formal line between tips and a tip credit the way the federal Fair Labor Standards Act does. Instead, the state sets a single lower cash wage for tipped employees — $4.425 an hour in 2018 — and requires that the cash wage plus tips together reach at least the full state minimum wage. Because the state does not use a separate tip-credit structure, many of the federal restrictions that normally surround a tip credit, such as requirements about notice or the specific amount of the credit, do not apply as separate rules in South Dakota. The employer's obligation is simply to pay the $4.425 direct cash wage and to cover any shortfall so the worker earns the full minimum wage.
The hourly minimum wage for tipped employees will be $4.425/hour effective Jan. 1, 2018, half the minimum wage for non-tipped employees. Wages and tips combined must equal at least the minimum wage.
State Minimum Wage to Increase Jan. 1 (South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
South Dakota's minimum-wage statute does not set out detailed rules about tip pooling the way federal law does. The Department of Labor & Regulation's 2017 announcement simply states that the cash wage for tipped employees will be $4.425 an hour in 2018 — half of the full state minimum wage — and that wages and tips combined must equal at least the minimum wage. Because the state does not operate through a formal tip-credit mechanism, the federal restrictions on tip pools (limiting them to employees who customarily receive tips, for example) may still apply under federal law but are not separately spelled out in South Dakota's own rules. For a tipped worker in South Dakota, the practical result is that the employer must always pay the $4.425 cash wage and top up earnings to at least the full minimum wage, no matter how tips are shared among staff.
The hourly minimum wage for tipped employees will be $4.425/hour effective Jan. 1, 2018, half the minimum wage for non-tipped employees. Wages and tips combined must equal at least the minimum wage.
State Minimum Wage to Increase Jan. 1 (South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation)
Doing two jobs for one employer
South Dakota's minimum-wage law does not contain the kind of detailed dual-jobs rules that exist in federal regulations, where an employer must track the time a worker spends on tipped versus non-tipped duties. The state's approach, as described in the Department of Labor & Regulation's 2017 press release, is simpler: the cash wage for tipped employees is set at $4.425 an hour in 2018, which is half of the full state minimum wage for non-tipped employees, and wages plus tips must always add up to at least the minimum wage. If a South Dakota employer has a worker who performs both tipped and non-tipped tasks, the same floor applies — the employee must receive at least the full state minimum wage for every hour worked, and any tips count toward meeting that total.
The hourly minimum wage for tipped employees will be $4.425/hour effective Jan. 1, 2018, half the minimum wage for non-tipped employees. Wages and tips combined must equal at least the minimum wage.
State Minimum Wage to Increase Jan. 1 (South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
State Minimum Wage to Increase Jan. 1 (South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation)
- Minimum cash wage
The hourly minimum wage for tipped employees will be $4.425/hour effective Jan. 1, 2018, half the minimum wage for non-tipped employees. Wages and tips combined must equal at least the minimum wage. These increases will apply to all South Dakota employers, with some limited exceptions.
Other years
Every South Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state