Employment and Labor Law Section

The Distance Learning Education Committee will work with the Bar’s Continuing Legal Education Division (CLE) to establish high quality, intermediate to advanced level online distance learning programming. The Committee will research potential speakers to provide a wide variety of employment and labor law topics. The CLE Division will communicate directly with the speakers regarding topics, taping dates and locations. The Committee’s goal is to produce up to 10 distance learning programs that will be posted on the Bar website for purchase and viewing by Bar members; and to secure a diverse faculty in terms of practice, gender, experience, specialization, geographic location and so forth. The CLE Division will offer Section members a $20.00 discount on all these programs. For additional information or to join this Committee, please contact Nekki Shutt at nshutt@burnetteshutt.law or by calling (803) 904-7912.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Committee concentrates on all aspects of equal employment opportunity under federal and state law in both private and public employment, including: employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age and disability; the interface of equal employment opportunity issues with collective bargaining situations under the National Labor Relations Act; use and validation of selection devices; affirmative action under Executive Orders 11246 and 11375; procedures and remedies in class action employment discrimination suits; and liaison with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the Department of Justice. For additional information or to join this Committee, please contact Mary Littlejohn at mary.littlejohn@eeoc.gov or by calling (864) 565-0353.

The purpose of the Immigration Law Committee is to keep readers up to date with the latest developments in immigration law and related issues such as I-9 employment verifications. There are numerous agencies involved in or impacted by various aspects of immigration law, including the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. State Department, the Social Security Administration, the U.S Department of Labor, and even the IRS.  Together with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, immigration laws and regulations are perhaps the most complex, and certainly more in flux, than any other body of federal law and regulatory provisions.  Certainly, few other issues arouse political passions more than immigration both at the federal, state, and local levels. Indeed, in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform encompassing illegal immigration, many states and local municipalities have waded into the immigration arena on issues as diverse as driver’s licenses, business licenses, and the award of government contracts. The Committee will strive to inform our readers of key issues relating to immigration as they affect businesses and employees on the international, national, and local levels. For additional information or to join this Committee, please contact Bernhard W. Mueller at bernhard.mueller@ogletreedeakins.com or by calling (803) 252-1300.

The Labor Management Relations Committee informs its members of developing laws and policies under the National Labor Relations Act and deals with issues germane to union campaigns, elections, and union administration and procedure.  For additional information or to join this Committee, please contact Michael Carrouth at mcarrouth@fisherphillips.com or by calling (803) 255-0000.

The Membership Committee concentrates on membership development within the Section. The Committee’s goal is to increase membership, determine what benefits members most want, maintain a strong Section, and to provide quality support.  For additional information or to join this Committee, please contact Jay Babb at jay@cbphlaw.com or by calling (803) 799-9530.

The Occupational Safety & Health Committee follows developments under the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act, as well as various state plans through which occupational safety and health laws and regulations are enforced. The Committee provides members with updates on developments and trends in the occupational, safety and health area. For additional information or to join this Committee, please contact Michael Henthorne at michael.henthorne@ogletree.com or by calling (803) 252-6873.

The Specialization Committee addresses a variety of specialization issues from providing suggestions to the board regarding the written examination and other specialization requirements to notifying individuals of specialization deadlines and requirements.  For additional information or to join this Committee, please contact Hagood Tighe at htighe@fisherphillips.com or by calling (803) 255-0000.

The following is a guide for authors submitting articles for publication in the newsletter of the South Carolina Bar Employment & Labor Law Section.

Article Preparation: Articles should be emailed in Word format, and pictures as a jpeg file or a png file to the Section Newsletter Coordinator J. Paul Porter paul@cromerbabb.com or Bar staff liaison Tara G. Caine at tcaine@scbar.org. Word count should be under 1,000 words for practice-area specific articles (case notes, law updates, etc.) and 500 words or less for opinion pieces, subcommittee updates, event recaps and additional content. Longer format, journal-style articles are typically reserved for the Bar’s “SC Lawyer” magazine. Submissions outside these parameters will be considered by the section newsletter coordinator with the guidance of the Bar’s communications staff.

Style: All content should be relevant and germane to the legal profession. Articles should be written for the average lawyer who is looking for usable information that is not difficult or time-consuming to read, presenting practical information in a clear and readable manner. Humor and anecdotes used to illustrate a topic are welcome additions when appropriate.

Except when referring to a specific individual, articles should be gender-neutral whenever possible. Articles should also be written in the third person, except when the author is relating a personal experience relevant to the subject of an article.

Author Credits: Authors will receive bylines at the beginning of articles and credit lines at the end. The credit line will include the author's name; title; firm, company or school; city; and state if outside South Carolina. No biographical sketches will be included.

Warranty and Representation: By submission of an article, the author warrants and represents that he or she has included no material in the article in violation of any rights of any other person or entity and that he or she has disclosed all relationships with any person or entity producing any product or providing any service referred to in the article.

Editing of Title and Text: All articles are edited by the South Carolina Bar's Communications Division according to the AP Stylebook, as well as for clarity and readability.