What happens if the Commission is still investigating when my South Carolina year runs out?

On the face of the statute, the state claim can expire while the file is still open. Section 1-13-90(d)(6) caps the action at one year from the violation or one hundred twenty days from dismissal, whichever occurs earlier, and nothing in the chapter tolls the one year period while the mandatory agency step is running. That is why the same subsection is worth reading for its two escape routes: dismissal is itself one of the triggers that unlocks suit, and the period may be extended by written consent of the respondent. Whether a South Carolina court would apply any equitable doctrine on particular facts is a question for a South Carolina employment lawyer, and it should be asked early rather than after the date passes.

What happens if I miss the 180-day South Carolina filing deadline?

The state route closes, but the federal one may not have. The Commission's own guidance says you have up to 180 days from the date the discriminatory act took place to file with it, and that you may still file if more than 180 days but less than 300 days have passed, in which case your complaint would be transferred to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for processing. The EEOC Charlotte District Office, which covers South Carolina, states that an individual has 300 days from the date of alleged harm to file a charge with that office against an employer with 15 or more employees. So a South Carolinian at day 200 has lost the state claim and kept the federal one.

Can I sue in federal court and keep my South Carolina state claim too?

No. Section 1-13-90(d)(8) provides that no action may be brought under the chapter if an action alleging essentially the same facts and seeking relief for the same complainant is brought in any federal court, and that any action brought under the chapter shall be promptly dismissed if such a federal action is brought. The same subsection also bars your action where the Commission has already sued on the same charge, and bars the Commission's action where you have. Since filing a federal Title VII suit after an EEOC right to sue notice is the usual path, this is a choice to make deliberately rather than by accident.

Does South Carolina protect workers from harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity?

Not in the state statute. Section 1-13-80(A)(1) lists race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, and disability, and the words sexual orientation and gender identity do not appear anywhere in the South Carolina Human Affairs Law. Protection for that conduct reaches South Carolina workers through federal law and the federal reading of sex discrimination, which means the EEOC route rather than the state one. That makes the federal charge, and its 300 day deadline in South Carolina, the part to calendar carefully in such a case.

Does my employer have to provide harassment training in South Carolina?

Not under the South Carolina Human Affairs Law. The Commission's enumerated powers in Section 1-13-70 include requiring the posting of notices and the submission of equal employment opportunity plans and reports, but that subsection reaches state agencies and departments and local subdivisions of them, not private employers, and Section 1-13-110 confines affirmative action planning to state agencies as well. The Commission does offer voluntary training and outreach, which is not the same as a duty on your employer. Requirements outside this chapter were not part of this review.

Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in South Carolina

Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team - South Carolina - Last updated September 15, 2026

South Carolina gives 180 days. S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-90(a) provides that any person shall complain in writing under oath or affirmation to the Commission within one hundred eighty days after the alleged discriminatory practice occurred. Two things in that sentence get dropped from most summaries. The complaint is a sworn document, not a phone call, although the same subsection says the Commissioner, his employees or agents shall assist complainants in reducing verbal complaints to writing. And the trigger is the date the practice occurred, with no discovery rule and no continuing violation language anywhere in the chapter. The agency step is required. Section 1-13-100 provides that nothing in the chapter may be construed to create a cause of action other than those specifically described in Section 1-13-90, and Section 1-13-90(d)(6) makes the private lawsuit available only where the Commission has dismissed the charge, or where 180 days have passed from the filing of the charge without the Commission filing suit or entering a conciliation agreement to which you are a party. There is no independent route to court that skips the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission, and there is no right to sue letter in the statute. Then comes the part that catches people. Section 1-13-90(d)(6) requires the action to 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. The lawsuit clock runs from the violation, and the mandatory agency step does not stop it. Read on the face of the statute, a claimant who files a timely charge and waits through a long investigation can reach dismissal after the one year wall has already passed. Coverage is the federal fifteen employees under Section 1-13-30(e), with no state claim below it. If what you are facing involves assault, threats or stalking, contact emergency services and speak with an attorney rather than starting with a complaint form.

Find out where you stand in South Carolina

Where are you with the harassment complaint?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

How long do I have to file a workplace harassment complaint in South Carolina?

One hundred eighty days. S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-90(a) provides that any person shall complain in writing under oath or affirmation to the Commission within one hundred eighty days after the alleged discriminatory practice occurred. Two details matter. The complaint must be sworn, though the statute says the Commissioner, his employees or agents shall assist complainants in reducing verbal complaints to writing. And the clock runs from the date the practice occurred, because the chapter contains no discovery rule and no continuing violation provision.

Do I have to file with SCHAC before I can sue in South Carolina?

Yes, and there is no independent route to court. Section 1-13-100 provides that nothing in the chapter may be construed to create a cause of action other than those specifically described in Section 1-13-90. Section 1-13-90(d)(6) then makes the private action available only where the Commission dismisses the charge, or where one hundred eighty days pass from the filing of the charge without the Commission bringing an action or entering into a conciliation agreement to which the complainant is a party. The statute has no right to sue letter. The unlock is either a dismissal or the passage of 180 days from your charge.

How long do I have to file a harassment lawsuit in South Carolina?

The statute gives two periods and takes the shorter. Section 1-13-90(d)(6) requires the action to 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. Note where the one year runs from: the violation, not the dismissal, and not the date you filed. Because you cannot sue until the Commission dismisses or 180 days pass, the required agency step uses up time on a clock it does not pause. Treat one year from the last incident as the outer wall and get advice well before it.

The agency step is required before you can sue here, and the clock on the lawsuit does not stop while you are taking it.

The charge deadline is 180 days and the document must be sworn. Section 1-13-90(a) requires a person to complain in writing under oath or affirmation to the Commission within one hundred eighty days after the alleged discriminatory practice occurred. The same subsection provides that 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, so the agency will help you prepare it, but what gets filed is a sworn instrument.

Relevant Laws

S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-100: No Cause of Action Outside Section 1-13-90

The chapter creates no cause of action other than those specifically described in Section 1-13-90, and none against a person not covered by Title VII, the ADEA, or the ADA. There is no independent state court route that skips the Commission.

S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-90(d)(6): One Year From the Violation or 120 Days From Dismissal, Whichever Is Earlier

The action must be brought within one year from the date of the violation alleged, or within one hundred twenty days from dismissal of the charge, whichever occurs earlier. The one year period runs from the violation, not from the agency's decision.

S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-30(e): Fifteen Employees, on the Federal Counting Formula

Employer means a person with fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, excluding an Indian tribe and a bona fide private membership club other than a labor organization.

S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-90: Private-Sector Charges Get Conciliation, Not a Hearing Panel

Subsection (c) gives complaints against state agencies a hearing before a panel of Commissioners. Subsection (d), which covers private employers and local governments, provides investigation and conciliation only, with circuit court as the next step.

S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-30(l): Because of Sex Includes Pregnancy, Childbirth and Lactation

The terms because of sex and on the basis of sex include pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, including but not limited to lactation. Section 1-13-80(A)(4) adds a reasonable accommodation duty for those medical needs.

Regional Variances

How South Carolina differs

The trigger is the date the practice occurred, and

The trigger is the date the practice occurred, and the chapter offers nothing softer. There is no discovery rule in the text, no tolling provision for a continuing course of conduct, and no language running the period from the date the practice ended or from the date you learned of it. Count from the date of the act. If your situation has an argument for a later start date, that argument comes from outside this chapter and is a question for a South Carolina employment lawyer.

You must go through the Commission before you can

You must go through the Commission before you can sue, and there is no independent court route. Section 1-13-100 provides that nothing in the chapter may be construed to create a cause of action other than those specifically described in Section 1-13-90. Section 1-13-90(d)(6) then unlocks the private action on one of two events only: the Commission dismisses the charge, or 180 days pass from the filing of the charge without the Commission having filed an action or entered into a conciliation agreement to which the complainant is a party. The statute contains no right to sue letter mechanism.

The deadline to sue runs from the violation, not

The deadline to sue runs from the violation, not from the agency's decision, and it is capped by whichever event comes first. Section 1-13-90(d)(6) requires the action to 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. Because you cannot sue until the Commission dismisses or 180 days pass, the mandatory step consumes time from a clock it does not stop. On the statute's plain words, a slow investigation can run past the one year wall while the claimant is barred from filing.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-30(e): Fifteen Employees, on the Federal Counting Formula

See your deadline days after starting

S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-90: Private-Sector Charges Get Conciliation, Not a Hearing Panel

See your deadline days after starting

S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-30(l): Because of Sex Includes Pregnancy, Childbirth and Lactation

See your deadline days after starting

S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-90(d): Back Pay Reaches Back Two Years From the Charge

See your deadline days after starting

Back pay liability does not accrue from a date more than two years prior to the filing of a charge with the Commission. This is a damages look-back and not a filing deadline, so do not treat it as extra time.

Task	Description	Document	Days after starting
S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-30(e): Fifteen Employees, on the Federal Counting Formula	Employer means a person with fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, excluding an Indian tribe and a bona fide private membership club other than a labor organization.	-	See your deadline
S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-90: Private-Sector Charges Get Conciliation, Not a Hearing Panel	Subsection (c) gives complaints against state agencies a hearing before a panel of Commissioners. Subsection (d), which covers private employers and local governments, provides investigation and conciliation only, with circuit court as the next step.	-	See your deadline
S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-30(l): Because of Sex Includes Pregnancy, Childbirth and Lactation	The terms because of sex and on the basis of sex include pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, including but not limited to lactation. Section 1-13-80(A)(4) adds a reasonable accommodation duty for those medical needs.	-	See your deadline
S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-13-90(d): Back Pay Reaches Back Two Years From the Charge	Back pay liability does not accrue from a date more than two years prior to the filing of a charge with the Commission. This is a damages look-back and not a filing deadline, so do not treat it as extra time.	-	See your deadline

Frequently Asked Questions

Other South Carolina guides

Adverse Possession in South Carolina: Ten Years Against a Presumption

Asset Protection Planning in South Carolina (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in South Carolina (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in South Carolina (2026)

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in South Carolina (2026)

Firing an Employee in South Carolina (2026)

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