CHAPTER 62-6
EMPLOYERS' RECORDS AND REPORTS
62-6-1 Record of injuries sustained by employees--Copy to employee--Failure as misdemeanor.
62-6-2 Employer's report of injury--Failure to report as misdemeanor.
62-6-3 Insurer to file copy of injury report with department--Notice of denial of coverage by insurer or employer--Suspension, revocation, or refusal of authority for noncompliance.
62-6-4 Wage records of employees--Inspection by department, purposes.
62-6-5 Information confidential--Release to employee or public agency--Nonprofit organization program.
62-6-6 Refusal to submit records for inspection--Penalty.
62-6-7 Demand for employee's work-related records--Production of records--Employee waiver of right to privacy.
62-6-1. Record of injuries sustained by employees--Copy to employee--Failure as misdemeanor.
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 holidays, after any employer has knowledge of the occurrence of an injury. The record shall be on a form approved by the Department of Labor and Regulation. The employer shall preserve the record for a period of at least four years from the date of injury. The record shall be signed by the employer and a copy given to the injured employee. Any employer who fails to complete or maintain the injury records required by this section is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Source: SDC 1939, § 64.0505; SL 1983, ch 387, § 2; SL 1999, ch 261, § 8; SL 2011, ch 1 (Ex. Ord. 11-1), § 33, eff. Apr. 12, 2011.
62-6-2. Employer's report of injury--Failure to report as misdemeanor.
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 Regulation when the employer is self-insured under § 62-5-5; or
(2) The employer's insurer when the employer has insured the liability under § 62-5-2 or 62-5-3.
The report shall be filed within seven calendar days, not counting Sundays and legal holidays, after the employer has knowledge of the injury, unless the employer had good cause for failing to file the written report within the seven-day period. The report shall be made on a form approved by the Department of Labor and Regulation. Any employer who fails to file a report as required by this section is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor and is subject to an administrative fine of one hundred dollars payable to the Department of Labor and Regulation.
Source: SDC 1939, §§ 64.0505, 64.9901; SL 1970, ch 280; SL 1978, ch 359, § 9; SL 1980, ch 365, § 1; SL 1983, ch 387, § 1; SL 1994, ch 396, § 14; SL 1999, ch 261, § 9; SL 2011, ch 1 (Ex. Ord. 11-1), § 33, eff. Apr. 12, 2011.
62-6-3. Insurer to file copy of injury report with department--Notice of denial of coverage by insurer or employer--Suspension, revocation, or refusal of authority for noncompliance.
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 employee and the department, in writing, within twenty days from its receipt of the report, if it denies coverage in whole or in part. This period may be extended not to exceed a total of thirty additional days by the department upon a proper showing that there is insufficient time to investigate the conditions surrounding the happening of the accident or the circumstances of coverage. If the insurer or self-insurer denies coverage in whole or in part, it shall state the reasons therefor and notify the claimant of the right to a hearing under § 62-7-12. The director of the Division of Insurance, or the secretary of labor and regulation if the employer is self-insured, may suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the certificate of authority, or may suspend or revoke all certificates of authority granted under Title 58 to any company or employer which fails, refuses, or neglects to comply with the provisions of this section. A company or employer which fails, refuses, or neglects to comply with the provisions of this section is also subject to an administrative fine of one hundred dollars payable to the Department of Labor and Regulation for each act of noncompliance, unless the company or employer had good cause for noncompliance.
Source: SDC 1939, § 64.0505; SL 1970, ch 281; SL 1980, ch 365, § 2; SL 1994, ch 396, § 15; SL 2011, ch 1 (Ex. Ord. 11-1), § 33, eff. Apr. 12, 2011.
62-6-4. Wage records of employees--Inspection by department, purposes.
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 from the department, for the purpose of ascertaining the correctness of the wage expenditure, the number of employees, and such other information as may be necessary for the uses and purposes of the department in the administration of the provisions of this title.
Source: SL 1917, ch 376, § 43; RC 1919, § 9479; SDC 1939, § 64.0507.
62-6-5. Information confidential--Release to employee or public agency--Nonprofit organization program.
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 employee or the employee's attorney, to a social security or welfare office having a claim by the employee, or to any state or federal agency which rehabilitates persons with disabilities. The department may issue statistical information if individual claimants are not identified.
The department may provide to an injured employee, a surviving spouse, or other dependent of an injured employee information of a program offered by a nonprofit organization that offers a benefit specific to a work-related injury and that the injured employee, the surviving spouse, or other dependent of the injured employee may be eligible to receive. The department may not provide the contact information of an injured employee, a surviving spouse, or other dependent of an injured employee to a nonprofit organization without the express written consent of the injured employee, the surviving spouse, or other dependent of an injured employee.
Source: SL 1917, ch 376, § 43; RC 1919, § 9479; SDC 1939, § 64.0507; SL 1970, ch 282; SL 2008, ch 278, § 40; SL 2024, ch 208, § 1.
62-6-6. Refusal to submit records for inspection--Penalty.
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 offense, to be collected by a civil action in the name of the state and paid into the state treasury.
Source: SL 1917, ch 376, § 43; RC 1919, § 9479; SDC 1939, § 64.0507; SL 2008, ch 278, § 41.
62-6-7. Demand for employee's work-related records--Production of records--Employee waiver of right to privacy.
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 claimed dates of injury, such as:
(1) The weeks in which the employee performed services;
(2) The earnings the employee received for the services, as defined in subdivision 62-1-1(6);
(3) Interruptions in employment if the employee was rehired or seasonally employed;
(4) Changes in the employee's grade of employment;
(5) The employee's job description; and
(6) Federal or state tax deductions.
The employer receiving this demand shall produce the employee's work-related records in ten business days, and may charge a fee for the production of the records. The fee for the production of the employee's work-related records may not exceed fifteen dollars.
An employee waives any right to privacy to these work-related records when the employee makes a claim for workers' compensation benefits and the employee consents to the release of these work-related records to the employer or insurer against which the employee is making a claim for workers' compensation benefits.
Source: SL 2016, ch 236, § 5.
