News & Information

CCH® UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE — 08/03/12

South Carolina amends its UI law on various topics

South Carolina has amended its Department of Employment and Workforce Law as follows:

Discharge for misconduct or cause. A worker who is discharged for misconduct connected with his or her most recent work will be disqualified for a period of 20 weeks, in addition to the waiting period, with a corresponding and mandatory reduction of the worker's benefits, to be calculated by multiplying the individual's weekly benefit amount by 20.

The term “misconduct” is limited to conduct evincing a willfull and wanton disregard of the employer's interests, such as that found in deliberate violations or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of its employees, or in carelessness or negligence of such a degree or recurrence as to manifest equal culpability, wrongful intent, or evil design, or to show an intentional and substantial disregard of the employer's interest or of the employee's duties and obligations to the employer. No finding of misconduct may be made for discharge resulting from an extreme hardship, emergency, sickness, or other extraordinary circumstance.

If the Department finds that an individual has been discharged for cause, other than misconduct, connected with the most recent work prior to filing a request for a determination of insured status or a request for initiation of a claim series within an established benefit year, then the Department will find the individual partially ineligible for benefits. The ineligibility must begin with the effective date of the request, and continue not less than five nor more than the next 19 weeks, in addition to the waiting period. A corresponding and mandatory reduction of the insured worker's benefits, to be calculated by multiplying the weekly benefit amount by the number of weeks of the disqualification, must be made. The ineligibility period must be determined by the Department in each case according to the seriousness of the cause for discharge. Discharge resulting from substandard performance due to inefficiency, inability, or incapacity will not serve as a basis for disqualification under the law.

Most recent bona fide employer. A benefit paid to a claimant must not be charged against the account of a contributing employer if the Department determines that the claimant's most recent bona fide employer discharged him or her for misconduct connected with employment. “Most recent bona fide employer” means the work or employer from which an individual was discharged, regardless of work subsequent to his or her discharge in which the individual earned less than eight times the weekly benefit amount.

Fraudulent overpayment. Upon the determination of a fraudulent overpayment by the Department, an employer, except for a reimbursable or government employer, from whose account the overpayment was debited must be credited for the amount of the overpayment regardless of the outcome of the action for recoupment or recovery of the overpayment.

Substitutes. Benefits are not payable to an individual based on service in an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity for an educational institution or institution of higher education, or to an individual based on service in any other capacity for an educational institution or institution of higher education, regardless of whether the institution is a public, private, or nonprofit organization, for any week that commences during an established and customary vacation period or holiday recess if the individual performs the service immediately before the vacation period or holiday recess and has a reasonable assurance of performing the service immediately after the vacation or holiday.

Benefits also are not payable to any individual who performed such services for a private employer that has a contractual relationship with the educational institution and is providing the services to or on behalf of an educational institution of higher education, provided that the private employer notifies the Department of Employment and Workforce of the separation of the individual.