On May 13, 2022, Governor Henry McMaster signed into law S. 11, which added Section 8-11-150 (A) and amends Section 8-11-155 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, to provide six weeks of paid leave at one hundred percent of the eligible state employee’s base pay or two weeks of paid leave at one hundred percent of the eligible state employee’s base pay depending on the qualifying event. Leave for part-time eligible state employees must be on a prorated basis corresponding to the percentage of hours they are normally scheduled to work.

Qualifying events include the birth of a newborn biological child to an eligible state employee, after a co-parent’s birth of a newborn child or fostering a child in state custody or the initial legal placement of a child by adoption. To qualify for Paid Parental Leave (PPL), the adoption, birth or foster care placement must occur on or after Oct. 1, 2022.

To be eligible for Paid Parental Leave the employee must occupy all or part of a full-time equivalent (FTE) position. There is no service requirement to be eligible for PPL. Employees occupying all or part of an FTE position are immediately eligible for PPL. Eligibility determinations are made as of the date of the birth, adoption or foster care placement. 

Note: Section 8-11-155 of the South Carolina Code of Laws provides Paid Parental Leave to FTE employees of South Carolina state agencies, departments, institutions of higher education, boards and commissions. Section 8-11-155 of the South Carolina Code of Laws does not provide Paid Parental Leave for employees who work for private employers.

For additional information concerning the administration of PPL, refer to the Paid Parental Leave Toolkit (.doc).

View directions to enter PPL in SCEIS here.