South Carolina Minimum Wage Local Preemption Statewide Standard

Section 6-1-130 prohibits counties and municipalities from establishing, mandating, or otherwise requiring an employer to pay a wage rate higher than that required under federal law. South Carolina has no state minimum wage statute, so the federal minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty-five cents per hour applies. Cities and counties cannot adopt local living-wage ordinances applicable to private employers. Limited exceptions exist for wages paid by political subdivisions to their own direct employees and for terms negotiated in public contracts.

Local minimum wage ordinances applicable to private employers are void and unenforceable; affected employers may seek declaratory relief.