Charleston Employment Lawyer

It depends on where you file. A charge with the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission is generally due within 180 days of the discriminatory act, while a charge with the EEOC can be filed within 300 days. The two agencies share charges, so a timely filing with one usually protects your claims with both. Treating 180 days as your working deadline is the safest way to keep the state claim alive.

Under the South Carolina Payment of Wages Act, your employer must pay your final wages within 48 hours of your separation or by the next regular payday (which cannot exceed 30 days). This rule applies whether you quit or were fired. If your employer unlawfully withholds your pay, you have the right to file a civil lawsuit. In South Carolina, judges have the discretion to award “treble damages”—meaning you could potentially recover up to three times the amount of your unpaid wages, plus your attorney’s fees.

Generally, no. South Carolina law strictly regulates what can be taken out of your check. Under the Payment of Wages Act, an employer cannot legally deduct money from your pay for things like register shortages, broken equipment, or uniforms unless they have given you specific, written notice of the deduction at least seven calendar days before it takes effect. A verbal warning or agreement does not satisfy South Carolina law.

Not necessarily. While South Carolina is an “at-will” employment state—meaning an employer can fire you for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all—they absolutely cannot fire you for an illegal reason. If you were terminated because of your race, gender, age, religion, or disability, or if you were fired in retaliation for reporting harassment, requesting FMLA leave, or blowing the whistle on illegal activity, you may have a strong wrongful termination case under federal and state law.

No, not for leave the FMLA protects. If your employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles, and you’ve worked there at least 12 months and 1,250 hours, you can take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for your own serious health condition, a family member’s, or the birth or adoption of a child. When you come back, you’re entitled to the same job or an equivalent one. South Carolina has no broader state leave law, so the FMLA is usually the main protection for Charleston employees who need medical leave.

In most cases, yes. South Carolina is an at-will state, and a PIP doesn’t guarantee your job. What matters is why the plan was issued and how it’s carried out. It may be building a case for a retaliatory or discriminatory firing if it came shortly after you reported harassment, took medical leave, disclosed a pregnancy, or asked for an accommodation, or if its goals are vague or impossible to meet. Document your work, respond in writing to criticism you disagree with, and get advice before the plan ends.

Yes. The South Carolina Pregnancy Accommodations Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, such as more frequent breaks, help with manual lifting, or a temporary change in duties. An employer also can’t push you onto leave when an accommodation would let you keep working. The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act adds its own protections on top of the state law.

It can. Under South Carolina law, a handbook avoids creating a contract only if its disclaimer is conspicuous, which means underlined capital letters on the first page, and the handbook is signed by the employee. If a handbook promises specific procedures, such as progressive discipline, and doesn’t carry that disclaimer, the employer can be held to what it wrote. Keep a copy of any handbook you were given and check its first page.