South Carolina H 3226: Minimum wage

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3226 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3226

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 
41-1-125 SO AS TO PROVIDE A BASE STATE MINIMUM WAGE AND A SCHEDULE TO GRADUALLY 
IMPLEMENT AN ADJUSTED MINIMUM WAGE TO TEN DOLLARS AND TEN CENTS PER HOUR OVER A 
THREE-YEAR PERIOD, TO PROVIDE A METHOD FOR CALCULATING FUTURE MANDATORY 
ADJUSTMENTS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE NOTIFICATION OF THESE ADJUSTMENTS TO EMPLOYERS 
AND EMPLOYEES BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION, TO PROVIDE 
THAT IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR AN EMPLOYER TO FAIL TO PAY THE STATE MINIMUM WAGE OR TO 
RETALIATE AGAINST AN EMPLOYEE FOR CERTAIN ACTIONS REGARDING ENFORCEMENT OF THE 
STATE MINIMUM WAGE LAW, TO PROVIDE REMEDIES FOR VIOLATIONS, TO PROVIDE A FIVE-YEAR 
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS, AND TO PROVIDE THAT ACTIONS BROUGHT PURSUANT TO THIS 
ACT MAY BE BROUGHT AS A CLASS ACTION UNDER STATE LAW.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Chapter 1, Title 41 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 41-1-125. (A) An employer shall, at a minimum, 
pay employees a wage at an hourly rate as provided in this section for all 
hours worked in this State. Only those individuals entitled to receive the 
federal minimum wage under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and its 
implementing regulations are eligible to receive this state minimum wage. The 
provisions of Sections 213 and 214 of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as 
interpreted by applicable federal regulations and implemented by the United 
States Secretary of Labor, are incorporated herein.

 (B) The 
minimum wage must be implemented as follows:

 (1) Beginning 
January 1, 2026, the initial state minimum wage is established as eight dollars 
and seventy five cents per hour.

 (2) Beginning 
January 1, 2027, the state minimum wage increases to nine dollars and seventy 
five cents per hour.

 (3) Beginning 
January 1, 2028, the state minimum wage increases to ten dollars and ten cents 
per hour.

 (4) Beginning 
January 1, 2029, and annually thereafter, the state minimum wage increases from 
ten dollars and ten cents per hour based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban 
Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, not seasonally adjusted, for the South 
Region or a successor index as calculated by the United States Department of 
Labor. The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation annually shall 
calculate and post the adjusted state minimum wage rate and the effective date 
on the internet website of the department before October fifteenth of each 
year. To the extent funded in the annual general appropriations act, the 
department annually shall provide written notice of the adjusted rate and the 
effective date of the adjusted state minimum wage to all employers by November 
fifteenth.

 (C) It 
is unlawful for an employer or another party to discriminate or take adverse 
action against a person in retaliation for filing a complaint about a violation 
of this section or informing any person of the provisions of this section.

 (D) A 
person aggrieved by a violation of this section may bring a civil action in a 
court of competent jurisdiction against an employer for violating a provision 
of this section, and if he prevails, must recover the full amount of any unpaid 
back wages, economic damages, and must be awarded reasonable attorney's fees 
and costs. Upon prevailing in an action brought pursuant to this section, an 
aggrieved person is also entitled to legal or equitable relief as appropriate 
to remedy the violation including, without limitation, reinstatement in 
employment and injunctive relief.

 (E) The 
Attorney General may bring a civil action to enforce this section, and this 
action may:

 (1) seek 
injunctive relief;

 (2) impose 
a fine of one thousand dollars for each violation, payable to the department. 
The department shall remit these funds to the state general fund; or

 (3) both.

 (F) The 
statute of limitations for an action brought pursuant to this section is for 
five years and begins on the date on which the alleged violation occurred.

 (G) An 
action brought pursuant to this section may be brought as a class action under 
state law.

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on December 06, 2024 at 10:47 AM