Employment Offer: South Carolina

Federal law and guidance on this subject should be reviewed together with this section.

Author: Meryl J. Gutterman, Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, P.C.

Summary

• South Carolina requires an employer of five or more employees to notify each employee in writing at the time of hire of the wages agreed upon, the time and place of payment, and the deductions that will be made from wages, including insurance programs. See Making an Employment Offer.
• South Carolina recognizes the employment at-will doctrine, with certain exceptions. See Preserving the At-Will Employment Relationship.
• Verbal assurances of job security and written materials found in an employee handbook relating to the terms of employment or termination may alter the at-will nature of employment in South Carolina. See Creating an Implied Contract.
• An employment offer in South Carolina may be contingent upon the results of a successful background check. See Conditional Employment Offers.
• South Carolina law does not prohibit the use of criminal arrest and conviction records in employment decisions and South Carolina does not restrict employers from asking applicants or employees about arrests or convictions. See Conditional Employment Offers.
• South Carolina does not restrict employers from conducting drug and alcohol tests on applicants. See Conditional Employment Offers.
• An employer may not conduct a medical examination or make inquiries of a job applicant as to whether the applicant is an individual with a disability or as to the nature or severity of the disability. Rather, the employer may make preemployment inquiries into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions. See Conditional Employment Offers.
• If the employer has preserved an at-will relationship and made no enforceable promises regarding the offered job, the employer may rescind or withdraw an employment offer at any time. See Withdrawal of an Employment Offer.
• Columbia has local requirements pertaining to employment offers. See Local Requirements.