A bill aiming to prohibit an employer from withholding compensation from an employee who quits without notice has died in the Senate Commerce and Energy Committee.
Senate Bill 220 would prevent employers from punishing employees who do not give a two-week notice.
Current law allows employers to drop compensation of an employee who suddenly quits to minimum wage.
Sen. Liz Larson is the Democratic Party Minority Whip. She introduced the bill.
“While this practice is unethical, it is actually not illegal. SB 220 seeks to protect workers to ensure they are paid for the hours that they work at the rate that was agreed upon if they have already worked,” said Larson.
Opponents of the bill said the law already offers employees a legal avenue to fight the employer for compensation.
Julie Johnson is a lawyer and lobbyist for the South Dakota Society of Human Resource Managers. She said the bill would change too many laws already on the books.
“Section 60-11 would need to be synced up or unified if we were to make this change. This bill probably doesn’t do that cleanly enough. I am not sure it is ready for prime time at this point," said Johnson. "There is a lot in that chapter of the code. I was a former secretary of labor, so I remember getting these calls, or similar calls — not completely this egregious — but trying then to find remedies for people that were not being paid wages according to the law.”
The committee voted to kill the bill Thursday with a five to three vote.
