South Dakota § 62-1-5.1 - Volunteers serving state or political subdivision without pay--Computing or imputing wage--Certain persons not deemed volunteers.

§ 62-1-5.1. Volunteers serving state or political subdivision without pay--Computing or imputing wage--Certain persons not deemed volunteers.

Any volunteer worker rendering services in or for any agency, department, institution, or instrumentality of the state or of any of its political subdivisions, including counties, townships, school districts, or municipalities, whose services have been duly recommended to the officer or governing body responsible for employment of personnel for the respective entity and duly appointed thereto by such officers or governing body, shall for purposes of this title be deemed an employee of the state or the political subdivision, as the case may be. The appointment shall be entered into the official records or minutes of the entity.

In the event of injury or death, for the purposes of computing compensation for volunteer workers other than volunteer firefighters, a volunteer uncompensated worker's employment earnings from all sources during the last six months of employment shall be used. In the event the volunteer uncompensated worker has never been employed, the worker shall be considered to be earning the state minimum wage over a forty-hour week. The worker's average weekly wage shall be calculated by one of the methods in §§ 62-4-25 to 62-4-27, inclusive. In no event may payments to volunteer uncompensated workers exceed the maximum limitations for benefits as set out in this title. No local prisoner, state inmate, or federal inmate providing services to the state or any of its political subdivisions may be considered a volunteer worker under this section.

Source: SL 1971, ch 278, § 1; SL 2001, ch 292, § 1.