AbsentEase
South Carolina sick leave law & call-off rules
South Carolina has no sick leave mandate — its entire employment-law drama runs through the handbook. Without the statutorily prescribed conspicuous disclaimer (underlined capitals, first page, signed), your attendance policy can become a binding contract; and whatever PTO the policy describes becomes wages carrying treble damages if it's missing from a final check due within 48 hours or the next payday. Here is what applies in 2026.
South Carolina at a glance
| Paid sick leave mandate | None — local mandates expressly preempted (§ 41-1-25) |
|---|---|
| Handbook disclaimer | Statutory formula (§ 41-1-110): conspicuous, underlined capitals, first page, signed — or the handbook may bind |
| Policy PTO | Wages under the Payment of Wages Act — treble damages + fees for violations |
| Final paycheck deadline | Within 48 hours or the next payday (max 30 days), any separation |
| Employment relationship | At-will with public-policy and handbook-contract exceptions |
| Voting leave | Not required (political-rights retaliation is unlawful) |
| Meal & rest breaks | None for adults |
Is paid sick leave required in South Carolina?
No. South Carolina has no sick leave requirement, and S.C. Code 41-1-25 (2017) expressly preempts local benefit mandates including paid sick and vacation leave. Your written policy plus the federal floor governs — and the policy's drafting is everything here.
The federal floor that still applies
FMLA
Employers with 50+ employees within 75 miles must give eligible employees (12+ months tenure, 1,250+ hours in the past year) up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition — their own or a close family member's. FMLA-protected absences can't accrue attendance points, and a call-off that mentions an ongoing condition can be notice enough to trigger your FMLA obligations, even if the employee never says "FMLA."
ADA
For employers with 15+ employees, the ADA can require modified attendance expectations or unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. An attendance policy applied "no exceptions" is exactly the kind that loses ADA cases — build an accommodation carve-out into the policy itself.
FLSA overtime and attendance bonuses
A cash bonus promised in advance for good attendance counts as wages under federal overtime law. It has to be added into the regular rate for the weeks it covers, so any of those weeks over 40 hours owes extra overtime on the bonus, usually recalculated after the bonus is paid. State overtime law can add to this, but can't go below it. See how attendance bonuses change overtime pay.
Call-offs, no-call no-shows, and firing in South Carolina
South Carolina is at-will with the usual public-policy exceptions (refusing illegal acts, jury duty, workers' comp retaliation) — but the live wire is § 41-1-110: a handbook without the exact statutory disclaimer can convert your attendance policy's progressive steps into a contract that limits termination. That makes the annual handbook audit a litigation-prevention exercise, not paperwork. Enforcement runs through the LLR's wage office and the courts, both of which read the written policy literally. A call-off hotline or text-based call-off system documents that whatever steps the policy promises were actually delivered, absence by absence.
After a no call, no show termination in South Carolina
| Does South Carolina law define job abandonment? | No statute or regulation applying to private employers defines job abandonment or sets a consecutive-days threshold; it is set by employer policy. (S.C. Code Ann. § 41-35-120(1), (2)(a), (2)(b)) |
|---|---|
| Final paycheck if you treat it as a discharge | When an employer separates an employee from the payroll for any reason, it must pay all wages due within forty-eight hours of the time of separation or by the next regular payday, which may not exceed thirty days. (S.C. Code Ann. § 41-10-50) |
| Final paycheck if you treat it as a resignation | The same rule applies when the employee quits, with or without notice, because the statute covers separation 'for any reason': within forty-eight hours of separation or by the next regular payday not exceeding thirty days. No distinction for notice. (S.C. Code Ann. § 41-10-50) |
| Accrued PTO at separation | No state requirement; owed only if your written policy promises it. 'Wages' include vacation, holiday and sick leave payments 'which are due to an employee under any employer policy or employment contract', so payout at separation is owed only when the employer's policy or contract makes it due; LLR's FAQ says payout 'depends on the company's policy' and that an employer offering benefits must give notice of the policy and abide by it, and § 41-10-30(A) requires written notice at hiring of wages and deductions and seven days' written notice of changes. (S.C. Code Ann. § 41-10-10(2); § 41-10-30(A)) |
| Unemployment claims | A claimant who left most recent work voluntarily without good cause is ineligible until earning eight times the weekly benefit amount (§ 41-35-120(1)); discharge for misconduct, meaning willful and wanton disregard of the employer's interests or carelessness or negligence of equal culpability, brings a twenty-week disqualification, but no misconduct finding may be made for a discharge resulting from an extreme hardship, emergency, sickness or other extraordinary circumstance (§ 41-35-120(2)(a)); discharge for cause other than misconduct brings a partial ineligibility of five to nineteen weeks (§ 41-35-120(2)(b)); the statute does not mention absences or job abandonment. |
If a state agency later treats a "resignation" as a discharge, the discharge deadline governs, so pay by the earlier of the two when in doubt. Document each step with the no call, no show write-up and termination letter templates, which fill in South Carolina's final-pay rule.
Write a no call, no show policy that fits South Carolina
Start from our no call, no show policy guide and free template, or let the generator turn nine quick questions into a signature-ready policy with South Carolina already selected so the protected-leave section covers the federal FMLA and ADA rules that still apply here.
PTO payout and final paychecks
| Scenario | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Any separation (fired or quit) | Within 48 hours, or by the next regular payday not exceeding 30 days | S.C. Code 41-10-50 |
| PTO described in policy | Counts as wages — payable as the policy provides, with treble damages plus attorney fees for shortfalls | SC Payment of Wages Act |
| Forfeiture clauses | Enforceable if explicit — the written policy controls in both directions | — |
| Enforcement | SC LLR Office of Wages and Child Labor, or court | — |
Treble damages make the PTO clause the most expensive sentence in a South Carolina handbook — write it once, precisely. See how PTO accrual works.
Leave South Carolina employers must (and must not) provide
| Leave type | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jury duty | Yes — unpaid | No dismissal or demotion for answering a summons (§ 41-1-70) |
| Military | Yes | USERRA (federal) plus South Carolina National Guard protections |
| Voting | No | No voting-leave statute; firing over political rights is separately unlawful |
| Sick leave | No | Whatever your written policy provides |
| Meal & rest breaks | No | None for adults |
The South Carolina employer's attendance playbook
- Put it in writing. A written policy — call-off deadline and channel, points or steps, the no-call no-show rule, and carve-outs for legally protected absences — is what makes discipline defensible. Our attendance policy guide walks through it.
- Give call-offs one channel. "Tell whoever answers" is how records get lost. One number every employee texts or calls makes the record automatic.
- Log everything with timestamps. Unemployment hearings and discrimination charges are won on contemporaneous records, not recollections.
- Enforce consistently. Uneven enforcement converts a lawful termination into a discrimination claim.
- Screen call-offs for protected reasons before applying points — sickness that could be FMLA/ADA territory gets a different track than an overslept alarm.
Comparing states? See all published guides on the state sick leave laws hub.