South Carolina Human Affairs Commission

Last updated
South Carolina Human Affairs Commission
South Carolina Human Affairs Commission Seal.png
Official seal
Agency overview
Formed1972
Jurisdiction Government of South Carolina
Headquarters Columbia, South Carolina
MottoWe prevent and eliminate unlawful discrimination
Employees51 (2025)
Annual budget$6.1 m USD (2025)
Agency executive
  • Marvin Caldwell Jr., Interim Commissioner
Website https://schac.sc.gov/

The South Carolina Human Affairs Commission, commonly referred to as "SCHAC", is an executive civil rights agency that addresses claims of discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and public services. [1] The Commission has the authority to investigate, mediate, and adjudicate claims arising from anti-discrimination state laws. [2] It also manages the state's affirmative action plans and provides compliance training and materials to employers, landlords, and citizens. [3] [4] It is one of 44 state human & civil rights agencies in the United States. [5]

Contents

The Commission is a small agency with 51 full-time employees. [6] Representative James E. Clyburn (D-SC) served as the second Commissioner of SCHAC. He held that position until 1992. [7] [8]

History

In the wake of the Civil Rights Movement, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Racial unrest continued in South Carolina, evidenced by the 1968 Orangeburg massacre and the anti-integration protests at Lamar High School (South Carolina). [9] After a Governor's Advisory Committee on Human Relations proved insufficient to handle the many complaints of racial tension and discrimination, the South Carolina General Assembly passed, and Governor John Carl West signed into law, the South Carolina Human Affairs Law ("HAL") in 1972, which was modeled after the 1964 Civil Rights Act. [10] [11] The HAL created SCHAC, enabling it to enforce new prohibitions against certain types of discrimination in employment. This included investigation, mediation, monitoring of employer practices, training employers, and implementing affirmative action policies in state agencies. In the wake of Governor West's death, Clyburn remarked that the creation of the Commission was "breaking ground" and that "No Southern state was doing what John West was doing. None." [12]

In 1989, the General Assembly passed, and Governor Carroll A. Campbell signed into law, the South Carolina Fair Housing Law (FHL). [13] The FHL expanded the Commission's mission scope to include certain housing discrimination claims.

In the 2010s, the Commission's employment discrimination purview grew to encompass protections for pregnancy and lactation. In 2018, the General Assembly unanimously passed, and Governor Henry McMaster signed into law, the Pregnancy Accommodation Act, providing workplace and employment protections for expecting and new mothers. [14] The Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with needs arising from a pregnancy, including sitting, extended breaks, and facilities for lactation. It also prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, or the need for such accommodations. [15] In 2020, the General Assembly unanimously passed, and McMaster signed into law, the Lactation Support Act. [16] The Act requires employers to provide a private space for workplace lactation, and prohibits them from discriminating against employees that choose to express milk at work. [17] South Carolina's Lactation Support Act served as the model for federal legislation enacted in 2020. [18]

Authority and organization

The Commission receives its authority from enabling acts passed by the General Assembly. These are the South Carolina Human Affairs Law, the South Carolina Fair Housing Law, the Equal Enjoyment and Privileges to Public Accommodations Act, the Pregnancy Accommodation Act, and the Lactation Support Act. [19] These statutes, in turn, allow the Commission to promulgate administrative rules. The South Carolina Administrative Procedures Act also applies to the Commission's proceedings. [20]

The Commission has the necessary authority to handle a claim of discrimination from its initial filing to a final disposition. This includes "the authority to subpoena witnesses, issue orders, hold hearings, and enforce findings." [19] Occasionally, if a settlement between the complainant and respondent cannot be reached, the Commission may file a lawsuit against a respondent to enforce its determination that unlawful discrimination has occurred. [21]

Governing Board and Commissioner

The Commission is overseen by a Governing Board with nine seats–one seat for each of the seven congressional districts and two at-large seats. [22] The Board members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the state Senate for a term of three years. [23]

Governing Board of the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission (as of September 2025) [24]
DistrictMemberAppointed DateExpiration Date
1st District Mary AmonittiMay 11, 2022June 30, 2023
2nd District Patrick PalmerMay 8, 2025June 30, 2026
3rd District Vacant
4th District James WilsonMay 8, 2025June 30, 2027
5th District Andrew WilliamsFebruary 2, 2017June 30, 2019
6th District Sharon SellersMay 12, 2022June 30, 2025
7th District Harold Jean BrownMarch 6, 2015June 30, 2018
At-LargeLeon WinnApril 23, 2025June 30, 2026
At-LargeSteve HallApril 28, 2025June 30, 2027

As noted in a 2014 General Assembly Audit, the Board routinely experiences prolonged vacancies and appointments exceeding the statutory limit. [25] As of September 2025, one-third of the Board is serving beyond their appointed term, and the Governor has not nominated a replacement. One seat remains vacant.

The day-to-day operations of the Commission are led by a separate, appointed Commissioner who is the Chief Administrative Officer. Notable former Commissioners include:

Organizational divisions

Technical Services & Community Relations

This Division handles claims of discrimination in public accommodations, publishes annual affirmative action reports, and organizes anti-discrimination events and resources.

The Equal Enjoyment and Privileges to Public Accommodations Act of 1990 outlawed discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin. [29] [30] Public accommodations are private businesses like hotels, movie theaters, malls, restaurants, stadiums, and other recreational areas. The Commission is enabled to mediate, but not prosecute, these claims. [31]

Pursuant to the Human Affairs Law, all state agencies must file an affirmative action plan with the Commission each year for review, which in turn files an annual report on the state of affirmative action in South Carolina to the General Assembly. [32] [33] These plans may only be voluntarily enforced by the submitting agency; the Commission cannot compel enforcement. [34]

This Division also provides community-facing trainings and events centered around anti-discrimination efforts, like anti-discrimination training for employers and landlords or "End Racism" events for citizens. [35] [36]

Employment

The founding mission of the Commission was to address discrimination in private and public employment made unlawful by either federal or state law. This includes hiring, management, and firing decisions based on a protected class. The employment division, with assistance from the enforcement division, intakes, investigates, and mediates claims of employment discrimination on the basis of age (for those over 40), color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, or pregnancy. [37] [38] It also has jurisdiction over claims of sexual harassment or retaliation for pursuing a discrimination claim. [38]

Following the United States Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) , the Commission began interpreting "sex discrimination" to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Prior to the Bostock ruling, the Commission never recognized sexual orientation discrimination, even after the EEOC issued interpretative guidance instructing to do so during the Obama Administration. [39]

Fair Housing

The Commission received authority to handle housing discrimination claims in 1989, following the passage of the South Carolina Fair Housing Law. [19] The FHL made it unlawful to refuse to sell or rent a dwelling on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or handicapping condition (disability). The law also prohibits such discrimination in the terms and conditions of a rental or sale, threats based on a protected class, or retaliation against someone filing a fair housing claim.

The Commission publishes statistics on the number of compliants lodged against homeowner associations and other housing providers. [40]

In the 2020 case of South Carolina Human Affairs Commission v. Chen, the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the state's FHL after a district court held it unconstitutionally vague. [41]

As part of its charge to prevent disability discrimination in housing, the Commission has sued landlords that wrongfully deny a tenant's request to keep a service animal in their unit. [42] In other cases, the Commission has reached settlement agreements on behalf of aggrieved tenants resulting in monetary damages payments.

Federal cooperation

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") and the Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") have work-sharing agreements with the Commission, allowing the Commission to handle claims that originate in South Carolina and were filed under comparable federal laws, like the Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Housing Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. [25] [43] [44]

Historically, the EEOC–SCHAC agreements allowed the EEOC to fund SCHAC investigations of disparate-impact claims, as both federal and state law outlawed disparate-impact discrimination and authorized the respective agencies to pursue such claims. [45] [46] However, in May 2025, the EEOC halted funding for state investigations of disparate-impact allegations. [47] President Trump also issued an Executive order ordering Executive agencies to "eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts to the maximum degree possible." [48] These changes may make it more difficult for state civil rights agencies, like SCHAC, to investigate and challenge disparate-impact violations. [49]

Notable incidents

1986 Citadel racial incident

In October 1986, a black cadet at The Citadel, a senior military college in Charleston, was harassed by five white cadets who burned paper crosses in front of his room while dressed as Ku Klux Klan members. [50] In response, Governor Richard W. Riley directed the Commission to investigate the incident and issue findings as to the college's response. The Commission condemned college-president James A. Grimsley for not doing more to communicate the harshness of the students' punishment and clearly stating intolerance for racial intolerance. Commissioner Clyburn cited a "significant amount of insensitivity on [the college's] campus". [51]

The Commission also promised to investigate other potentially-offensive events at The Citadel, like the use of the Confederate battle flag at football games and the invocation of "Dixie" as the college's official fight song. [52]

Funding controversies

In 2014, an independent audit by the General Assembly found that the Commission misappropriated HUD grant funds by spending them to cover administrative costs. [25]

In 2025, lawmakers from the South Carolina Freedom Caucus unsuccessfully, a group of ultra-conservative lawmakers, attempted to defund the Commission, along with many other agencies and initiatives. [53] . Caucus-leader Jordan Pace called the group's effort a "fundamental reshaping of the way we think about government". [54] [55] House Majority leader Davey Hiott defended the Commission's continued funding and said, "[o]ur disabled and special needs kids are not crap to me." [56] The House rejected the defunding attempt; the state budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year allocated $6.1 million USD to the Commission. [57]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. Christian, Matthew (2022-06-12). "Aiken residents' homework helps produce annual S.C. Human Affairs Commission report". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  2. "Who We Are | Human Affairs Commission". schac.sc.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  3. “Agencies Make Compliance with Labor Laws Easier.” South Carolina Business Journal, vol. 20, no. 2, Mar. 2001, p. 5. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=4186721&site=eds-live&scope=site.
  4. Staff, WIS News 10 (2022-06-23). "SC Human Affairs Commission celebrates 50 years of service to Carolinians". WIS 10. Retrieved 2025-09-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. "State Agencies". Iaohra. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  6. "State Employees by Agency" (PDF). South Carolina Department of Administration. 2025-08-13. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  7. "Jim Clyburn's Long Quest For Black Political Power". TIME. 2022-07-28. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  8. 1 2 "Biography". Congressman James E. Clyburn. 2010-10-30. Archived from the original on 2024-07-09. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  9. Beazley, Paul (1997-10-02). South Carolina Human Affairs Commission: A History 1972–1997. South Carolina Human Affairs Commission. pp. 3, 9.
  10. "Code of Laws - Title 1 - Chapter 13 - State Human Affairs Commission". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  11. Beazley, Paul (1997-10-02). South Carolina Human Affairs Commission: A History 1972-1997. South Carolina Human Affairs Commission. p. 23.
  12. Wolfgang, Saxon (2004-03-24). "Former South Carolina governor: Fought to rid state of discrimination". Montreal Gazette. pp. B11. ProQuest   434038788 . Retrieved 2025-09-02 via ProQuest.
  13. "Code of Laws - Title 31 - Chapter 21 - Fair Housing Law". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  14. Osby, Liv. "Pregnant workers get more protections on the job". The Greenville News. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  15. "Code of Laws - Title 1 - Chapter 13 - State Human Affairs Commission". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  16. Laird, Skylar (2024-07-08). "Advocates say SC law protecting pregnant employees is working • SC Daily Gazette". SC Daily Gazette. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  17. LLP, Bettis Law Group (2020-09-01). "Employer Obligations for Lactation Support in South Carolina". Bettis Law Group, LLP. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  18. Montgomery, Bob. "Spartanburg Rep. Henderson-Myers honored at White House for legislation for nursing moms". Spartanburg Herald Journal. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  19. 1 2 3 "History | Human Affairs Commission". schac-dev.sc.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  20. "2024 South Carolina Code of Laws :: Title 1 - Administration of the Government :: Chapter 23 - State Agency Rule Making And Adjudication Of Contested Cases". Justia Law. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  21. "Legal Division | Human Affairs Commission". schac.sc.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  22. "Governing Board | Human Affairs Commission". schac.sc.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  23. "Code of Laws - Title 1 - Chapter 13 - State Human Affairs Commission". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  24. "South Carolina State Boards & Commissions Search". search.scsos.com. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  25. 1 2 3 "A Limited Review of the S.C. Human Affairs Commission" (PDF). South Carolina General Assembly Legislative Audit Council. 2014-12-01. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  26. "SC State presents Social Justice Awards to Ham, Kennerly in commemorating 57th anniversary of the Orangeburg Massacre". scsu.edu. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  27. Behre, Robert (2018-02-10). "Summerville pastor honored by Nigeria group for his life's work, including two African Bible schools". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  28. "Remembering Dr. George Hamilton". wltx.com. 2025-09-05. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  29. S.C. Code Ann. §§ 49-9-10 to -120 (2024)
  30. Cook, Robert (2002-10-09). "Attorney General Opinion on Filing Deadlines" (PDF). South Carolina Attorney General. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  31. "Non Employment | Human Affairs Commission". schac.sc.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  32. "Code of Laws - Title 1 - Chapter 13 - State Human Affairs Commission". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  33. "Technical Services and Training Department | Human Affairs Commission". schac.sc.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  34. "Affirmative Action | Human Affairs Commission". schac.sc.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  35. "Training Programs | Human Affairs Commission". schac.sc.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  36. "South Carolina Human Affairs Commission to host End Racism Day". Carolina Panorama Newspaper. 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  37. Walters, Haley (2020-02-02). "Know your rights: How workplace discrimination is handled in the state". The Greenville News. pp. AA.3. ProQuest   2349613777 . Retrieved 2025-09-02 via ProQuest.
  38. 1 2 "Employment Discrimination | Human Affairs Commission". schac.sc.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  39. Donovan, David (2020-06-30). "U.S. Supreme Court's LGBTQ rights ruling is a big change for S.C." South Carolina Lawyers Weekly. ProQuest   2420029624 . Retrieved 2025-09-02 via ProQuest.
  40. "Horry County accounted for over 25% of all 2024 HOA complaints in SC, data shows". WMBF News. 2025-02-04. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  41. Stephenson, Correy (2020-07-28). "Supreme Court OKs constitutionality of Fair Housing Law". South Carolina Lawyers Weekly. ProQuest   2429613262 . Retrieved 2025-09-02 via ProQuest.
  42. Norkol, Mary (2022-04-22). "Horry County HOA denied emotional support animals, violated fair housing law, suit says". Myrtle Beach Sun News. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  43. "State and Local Programs". US EEOC. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  44. "Fair Housing Partners | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)". www.hud.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  45. "Prohibited Practices & Discrimination Types | Human Affairs Commission". schac.sc.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  46. "Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964". US EEOC. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  47. "EEOC pulls funding from joint state, local transgender bias investigations | HR Dive". www.hrdive.com. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  48. Orders, Executive (2025-04-23). "Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy". The White House. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  49. "EEOC Ends Payments to State Agencies to Investigate Gender Identity and Disparate Impact Claims". JD Supra. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  50. "State Panel Admonishes The Citadel". The Washington Post. 1986-11-22. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  51. Treadwell, David (1986-12-26). "Outrage Refuses to Die Down in Scandal Over Hazing of Black Cadet at Citadel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  52. Treadwell, David (1986-12-26). "Outrage Refuses to Die Down in Scandal Over Hazing of Black Cadet at Citadel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  53. Laird, Skylar (2025-03-11). "'Tired of this crap': GOP leader calls Freedom Caucus efforts to slash SC budget disingenuous • SC Daily Gazette". SC Daily Gazette. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  54. Carolina, Elizabeth Martinez South. "South Carolina House passes $14 billion state budget plan". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  55. Collins, Jeffery (2025-03-12). "South Carolina House Republicans fight with each other over the budget". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  56. Mcconchie, Brian (2025-03-16). "Connect to the Capitol: Budget battle, SC's surging power needs". WACH. Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  57. "2025-2026 Bill H. 4025, Budget for FY 2025-2026 - Part IA - Ratified Version - South Carolina Legislature Online". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-02.