State of South Carolina Labor Laws on Mandatory Overtime

The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations is responsible for administering the state’s labor laws. The department does not require employers to provide their employees with mandatory rest days and does not prohibit most employers from requiring their employees to work mandatory overtime hours as long as they comply with the federal and state overtime laws.

The United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is responsible for administering the federal wage and hour laws. According to the Wage and Hour Division, employers are not prohibited from requiring their adult employees to work overtime. As long as they pay their employees for work exceeding a 40-hour workweek at time-and-a-half, there are no federal restrictions on scheduling for adult employees.

South Carolina is an employment-at-will state and generally, employers in at-will jurisdictions are responsible for their scheduling and staffing needs. Although a few at-will states restrict the number of hours that employers can require their employees to work, South Carolina does not. The South Carolina Payment of Wages Law requires employers to pay their employees overtime hours for work exceeding 40 hours per workweek, unless they are exempt from the state or federal overtime requirements. Generally, the federal and state labor laws allow employers to pay only their nonexempt employees overtime pay. Exempt employees are typically those who work in administrative jobs, supervisory positions or professional occupations.

South Carolina law requires employers with at least five employees to notify each employee with their pay policies and pay rates. Each employee must receive a written Terms of Employment Notice when they initially begin working, and an employer is prohibited from changing its pay policies without providing its employees at least seven days of written notice notifying them of the impending changes.

The federal government and South Carolina’s child labor laws restrict the number of hours that minors under 16 can work. Generally, minors ages 14 and 15 can work up to three hours daily and 18 hours weekly, and employers cannot schedule them to work late evening or mid-day school hours. However, there are no labor regulations restricting the number of hours that employees ages 16 and 17 can work, and employers can schedule them to work overtime hours, as necessary, as long as they comply with the hazardous job requirements prohibiting minors from performing dangerous work.

Since South Carolina laws can frequently change, do not use this information as a substitute for legal advice. Seek advice through an attorney licensed to practice law in South Carolina.