2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 1 - Administration of the Government › Chapter 13 - State Human Affairs Commission › Section 1-13-90. Complaints, investigations, hearings and orders.

(a) Any person shall complain in writing under oath or affirmation to the Commission within one hundred eighty days after the alleged discriminatory practice occurred. The Commissioner, his employees or agents, shall assist complainants in reducing verbal complaints to writing and shall assist in setting forth such information as may be required by the Commission. The Commission shall serve a copy of the complaint upon the respondent within ten days after the complaint is received by the Commission, except that if the Commission determines for good cause that such service will impede its investigation of the complaint, it shall serve notice of the complaint, including the date, place, and circumstances of the alleged unlawful employment practice upon the respondent within ten days after the complaint is received by the Commission.
(b) Any complainant who is a member of the Commission shall be disqualified from participation except as the complainant in the processing and resolution of the complaint.
(c) For complaints asserting expressly or in substance a violation by a state agency or department or local subdivisions of a state agency or department of Section 1-13-80 the procedure shall be as follows:
(1) The Commissioner shall assign one or more of his employees or agents to investigate the complaint, in which case one shall be designated the investigator in charge of the complaint. Information gathered during an investigation under this subsection shall not be made public by the Commission, its officers or employees, except for information made public as a result of being offered or received into evidence in an action brought under this subsection.
(2) The Chairman of the Commission or, upon the request of the Chairman, the Commissioner shall designate a member of the Commission to supervise the processing of the complaint.
(3) The complaint may be resolved at any time before a hearing by conference, conciliation and persuasion with the complainant and the respondent, such resolution to be embodied in a conciliation agreement, which shall include an agreement by the respondent to refrain from committing unlawful discriminatory practices in the future, and which may contain such further provisions as are agreed upon by the complainant and the respondent. No conciliation agreement shall be deemed an effective resolution by the Commission unless the supervisory commission member shall have reviewed and approved the terms thereof. Positions taken by a witness in connection with such efforts toward conciliation shall not be made public or used against the interest of the witness in a subsequent proceeding.
(4) In undertaking its investigation of a complaint the Commission shall have the authority:
(i) To issue a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum and thereby compel attendance of witnesses or production for examination of books, papers, and records, whenever it is deemed necessary to compel the attendance of witnesses, or the production for examination of any books, payrolls, personnel records, correspondence, documents, papers or any other evidence relating to any matter under investigation or in question before the Commission. The power may be exercised only by the joint action by the Chairman of the Commission and the Commissioner.
(ii) To require any party or witness to answer interrogatories at any time after the complaint is filed.
(iii) To take depositions of witnesses including any party pursuant to a complaint or investigation made by the Commission.
(iv) Pursuant to subitems (i), (ii), (iii), above, if a person fails to permit access, fails to comply with a subpoena, refuses to have his or her deposition taken, refuses to answer interrogatories, or otherwise refuses to allow discovery, the Commission may request an order of a court of competent jurisdiction requiring discovery and other related good faith compliance.
(5) If not sooner resolved, the investigator shall upon completion of his investigation submit to the supervisory commission member a statement of the facts disclosed by his investigation and recommend either that the complaint be dismissed or that a panel of commission members be designated to hear the complaint. The supervisory commission member, after review of the case file and the statement and recommendation of the investigator shall issue an order either of dismissal or for a hearing, which order shall not be subject to judicial or other further review.
(6) If the order be of dismissal, the supervisory commission member shall mail a copy of the order to the complainant and the respondent at their last known addresses.
(7) If the order be for a hearing, the supervisory commission member shall annex thereto a notice and a copy of the complaint and require the respondent to answer the complaint at a hearing at a time and place specified in the notice and shall serve upon the respondent a copy of the order, the complaint, and the notice.
(8) At any time before a hearing a complaint may be amended by the supervisory commission member upon the request of the investigator or of the complainant or of the respondent. Complaints may be amended during a hearing only upon a majority vote of the panel of commission members for such hearing.
(9) Upon request by any party, the Commissioner shall issue appropriate subpoenaes or subpoenaes duces tecum to any witnesses or other custodians of documents desired to be present at the hearing, or at prehearing depositions, unless the Commissioner determines that issuance of the subpoenaes or subpoenaes duces tecum would be unreasonable or unduly burdensome.
(10) Upon notification by any party that any party or witness has failed to permit access, failed to comply with a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum, refused to have his or her deposition taken, refused to answer interrogatories, or otherwise refused to allow discovery, the Commission, shall, upon notice to the party or witness, apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order requiring discovery and other good faith compliance unless the Commission determines that the discovery would be unreasonably or unduly burdensome.
(11) Upon request by the supervisory commission member, the Chairman of the Commission shall designate a panel of three members of the Commission to sit as the Commission to hear the complaint; provided, that no member of the Commission shall be a member of a panel to hear a complaint for which he has been a supervisory commission member.
(12) At any hearing held pursuant to this subsection, the case in support of the complaint shall be presented before the panel by one or more of the commission's employees or agents, and, with consent of the panel, by legal representatives of the complaining party; provided, that endeavors at conciliation by the investigator shall not be received into evidence nor otherwise made known to the members of the panel.
(13) The respondent shall submit a written answer to the complaint and appear at such hearing in person or by counsel and may submit evidence. The respondent shall have the power reasonably and fairly to amend his answer.
(14) The complainant shall be permitted to be present and submit evidence.
(15) Proceedings under this section shall be subject to the Administrative Procedures Act, Sections 1-23-310 through 1-23-400 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, as amended, and in case of conflict between the provisions of this chapter and the Administrative Procedures Act, the Administrative Procedures Act shall govern. A recording of the proceedings shall be made, which may be subsequently transcribed upon request and payment of a reasonable fee by the complainant or the respondent. The fee shall be set by the Commission or upon motion of the panel, in which case copies of such transcription shall be made available to the complainant or the respondent upon request and payment of a reasonable fee to be set by the Commission.
(16) If upon all the evidence at the hearing the panel shall find that the respondent has engaged in any unlawful discriminatory practice, it shall state its findings of fact and serve upon the respondent in the name of the Commission an opinion and order requiring that such unlawful discriminatory practice be discontinued and requiring such other action including, but not limited to, hiring, reinstatement or upgrading of employees, with or without back pay to the persons aggrieved by such practice as, in the judgment of the panel, will effectuate the purposes of this chapter. Back pay liability shall not accrue from a date more than two years prior to the filing of a charge with the Commission. The Commission may retain jurisdiction of any such case until it is satisfied of compliance by the respondent with its order.
(17) If upon all the evidence at the hearing the panel shall find that the respondent has not engaged in any such unlawful discriminatory practice, the panel shall state its findings of fact and serve upon the complainant and the respondent an opinion and order dismissing the complaint as to the respondent.
(18) A copy of the opinion and order of the Commission shall be delivered in all cases to the Attorney General and to such other public officers as the Commission deems proper. Copies of the opinion and order shall be available to the public for inspection upon request, and copies shall be made available to any person upon payment of a reasonable fee set by the Commission.
(19)(i) If an application for review is made to the commission within fourteen days from the date the order of the commission is given, the commission, for good cause shown, shall review the order and evidence, receive further evidence, rehear the parties or their representatives, and, if proper, amend the order.
(ii) The order of the commission, as provided in item (16) of subsection (c) of this section, if not reviewed in due time, or an order of the commission upon review, as provided for in subitem (i) of item (19) of this subsection, is conclusive and binding as to all questions of fact unless clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantive evidence in the whole record. Either party to the dispute, within thirty days after receipt of notice to be sent by registered mail of the order may appeal the decision of the commission to the Administrative Law Court as provided in Sections 1-23-380(B) and 1-23-600(D). In case of an appeal from the decision of the commission, the appeal operates as a supersedeas for thirty days only, unless otherwise ordered by the administrative law judge, and the respondent is required to comply with the order involved in the appeal or certification until the questions at issue are fully determined in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(iii) The commission may institute a proceeding for enforcement of its order of item (16) of subsection (c) of this section, or its amended order of subitem (i) of item (19) of this subsection after thirty days from the date of the order, by filing a notice of appeal in the court of common pleas of the county in which the hearing occurred, or where a person required in the order to cease and desist from a practice which is the subject of the commission's order, or to take other affirmative action, resides, or transacts business.
If no appeal pursuant to subitem (ii) of item (19) of this subsection is initiated, the commission may obtain a decree of the court for enforcement of its order upon a showing that a copy of the petition for enforcement was served upon the party subject to the dictates of the commission's order.
(d) For complaints asserting expressly or in substance a violation of Section 1-13-80 by employers, employment agencies or labor organizations, including municipalities, counties, special purpose districts, school districts, and local governments, but not including employers, employment agencies or labor organizations covered by Section 1-13-90(c), the procedure shall be as follows:
(1) The Commissioner shall assign one or more of his employees or agents to investigate the complaint, in which case one shall be designated the investigator in charge of the complaint.
(2) The Commission shall institute an investigation by its employees to ascertain the facts relating to such alleged unlawful employment practice. In its investigation of a charge filed under this chapter, the Commission or its designated employees shall at all reasonable times have access to, for the purposes of examination, and the right to copy any evidence of any person being investigated that relates to unlawful employment practices covered by this chapter and is relevant to the charge under investigation. If any persons fail to permit access to such evidence, the Commission may issue a subpoena duces tecum and thereby compel the production for examination and copying of such evidence. If any person fails to comply with a subpoena issued under this chapter, the Commission may request an order of a court of competent jurisdiction requiring compliance with the subpoena. The person against whom an order of court is sought shall be given at least four days' notice of the time and place of the court hearing and may appear and oppose the granting of any order. Any person may, after giving the Commission at least four days' notice, move before a court of competent jurisdiction for an order quashing any subpoena issued under this subsection. Information gathered during an investigation under this subsection shall not be made public by the Commission, its officers or employees, except for information made public as a result of being offered or received into evidence in an action brought under this subsection.
(3) The complaint may be resolved at any time by conference, conciliation and persuasion with the complainant and the party complained of, such resolution to be embodied in a conciliation agreement, which may include an agreement by the respondent to refrain from committing unlawful discriminatory practices in the future, and which may contain such further provisions as are agreed upon by the complainant and the party complained of. Nothing said or done during and as part of such informal endeavors may be made public by the Commission or used as evidence in a subsequent proceeding.
(4) If not sooner resolved, the investigator shall upon completion of his investigation submit to the Commissioner a statement of the facts disclosed by his investigation and recommend either that the complaint be dismissed or that the Commission bring an action in equity in circuit court against the respondent. The Commissioner, after a review of the case file and the statement and recommendation of the investigator, may issue an order either to dismiss the charge or to bring an action in equity in circuit court against the respondent, which order shall not be subject to judicial or other further review.
(5) If the order be of dismissal, the Commissioner shall mail a copy of the order to the complainant and to the respondent at their last known addresses.
(6) If a charge filed with the commission by a complainant pursuant to this chapter is dismissed by the commission, or if within one hundred eighty days from the filing of the charge the commission has not filed an action under this chapter or entered into a conciliation agreement to which the complainant is a party, the complainant may bring an action in equity against the respondent in circuit court. The action must be brought within one year from the date of the violation alleged, or within one hundred twenty days from the date the complainant's charge is dismissed, whichever occurs earlier, except that this period may be extended by written consent of the respondent.
(7) If within thirty days after issuance of its determination the Commission is unable to secure from the respondent a conciliation agreement acceptable to the Commission, or if the Commission determines after investigation that the respondent has violated the terms of a conciliation agreement, the Commission may bring an action in equity against the respondent in circuit court. Such action shall be brought within one year from the date of the violation alleged, except that this period may be extended by written consent of the respondent.
(8) No action may be brought under this chapter by a complainant if an action based on the same charge has been brought by the Commission, and no action may be brought under this chapter by the Commission if an action based on the same charge has been brought by the complainant. No action may be brought under this chapter if an action alleging essentially the same facts and seeking relief for the same complainant has been brought in any federal court. Any action brought under this chapter shall be promptly dismissed if an action alleging essentially the same facts and seeking relief for the same complainant is brought in any federal court.
(9) If the court finds that the respondent has intentionally engaged in or is intentionally engaging in an unlawful employment practice charged in the complaint, the court may enjoin the respondent from engaging in such unlawful employment practice, and order such affirmative action as may be appropriate, which may include, but is not limited to, reinstatement of hiring of employees, with or without back pay payable by the employer, employment agency, or labor organization, as the case may be, responsible for the unlawful employment practice or any other equitable relief as the court deems appropriate. Back pay liability shall not accrue from a date more than two years prior to the filing of a charge with the Commission. Unemployment compensation, interim earnings, or amount earnable with reasonable diligence, by the person or persons discriminated against shall operate to reduce the back pay otherwise allowable. No order of the court shall require the admission or reinstatement of an individual as a member of a union, of the hiring, reinstatement, or promotion of an individual as an employee, or the payment to him of any back pay if such individual was refused admission, suspended or expelled, or was refused employment or advancement or was suspended or discharged for any reason other than discrimination on account of race, color, religion, sex, age or national origin in violation of this chapter, or discrimination in violation of subsection (e) of Section 1-13-80.
(e) For complaints of the existence or occurrence of a practice asserted to be discriminatory on the basis of race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, or disability, other than those discriminatory practices declared unlawful by Section 1-13-80, or of any other dispute regarding human affairs, the procedure of the commission is as follows:
The commissioner shall assign one or more of the commission's employees or agents who may resolve the complaint by conference, conciliation, and persuasion with the complainant and the respondent, the resolution to be embodied in a conciliation agreement which shall include such provisions as are agreed upon by the complainant and the respondent. If the employee or agent is unable after reasonable efforts to resolve the complaint, the employee or agent shall withdraw from the matter and not participate further and the commission file of the complaint must be closed. If the complainant and the respondent thereafter resolve the complaint and submit a record of the resolution to the commission, the record must be entered into the commission file of the complaint.
(f) If in the course of processing any complaint under the procedure set forth in (e) above sufficient facts shall appear warranting the processing of the complaint under the procedure provided by subsection (c) or (d) of this section upon notice to the complainant and to the respondent, such other procedure shall thereafter be followed for the processing of the complaint.
(g) The Commission shall establish such rules as may be necessary to govern, expedite and effectuate the procedures prescribed in this section.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 1-360.29; 1972 (57) 2651; 1973 (58) 698; 1979 Act No. 24 Section 9; 1990 Act No. 333, Section 1; 1996 Act No. 426, Section 6; 2006 Act No. 387, Section 1, eff July 1, 2006.
Editor's Note
2006 Act No. 387, Section 53, provides as follows:
"This act is intended to provide a uniform procedure for contested cases and appeals from administrative agencies and to the extent that a provision of this act conflicts with an existing statute or regulation, the provisions of this act are controlling."
2006 Act No. 387, Section 57, provides as follows:
"This act takes effect on July 1, 2006, and applies to any actions pending on or after the effective date of the act. No pending or vested right, civil action, special proceeding, or appeal of a final administrative decision exists under the former law as of the effective date of this act, except for appeals of Department of Health and Environmental Control Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and Environmental Quality Control permits that are before the Administrative Law Court on the effective date of this act and petitions for judicial review that are pending before the circuit court. For those actions only, the department shall hear appeals from the administrative law judges and the circuit court shall hear pending petitions for judicial review in accordance with the former law. Thereafter, any appeal of those actions shall proceed as provided in this act for review. For all other actions pending on the effective date of this act, the action proceeds as provided in this act for review."
Effect of Amendment
The 2006 amendment, subparagraph (c)(19)(ii), in the second sentence substituted "Administrative Law Court as provided in Sections 1-23-380(B) and 1-23-600(D)" for "court of common pleas of the county in which the hearing occurred, or in which the respondent resides or has his principal office", and in the third sentence substituted "administrative law judge" for "court"; in subparagraph (c)(19)(iii), substituted "date" for "day" and"notice of appeal" for "petition"; and made nonsubstantive changes throughout.