Although most employers in South Carolina are not subject to specific remote work policy requirements, all employers should ensure that they take the necessary steps to effectively mitigate their risk when allowing employees to work from home. While Governor McMaster established new remote work requirements in 2025, these requirements only apply to state agencies.

Offering the ability to work from home is becoming increasingly important for employers in a wide range of industries. These days, many high-quality candidates are only looking for remote work; and, if employers require in-office work while their competitors do not, they can lose out on quality hires.  

When offering remote work opportunities, employers must be careful to ensure that they have the necessary policies in place. While most employers are not subject to mandatory policy requirements related to remote work (with technology-related policies for government contractors being a possible exception), all employers should adopt policies that are designed to effectively manage their risk on an ongoing basis.

Employer Compliance When Hiring Remote Workers: Key Considerations for Companies in Charleston

When it comes to managing risk related to remote workers, there are a handful of key considerations that companies in Charleston should keep in mind. Fundamentally, hiring remote workers is no different from hiring employees to work on-site (and some employees may do both). Among other things, this means that:

  • As a general rule, remote workers have the same rights as on-site workers when it comes to matters involving wages, benefits, and overtime pay.
  • Remote workers also generally have the same rights as on-site workers when it comes to protections against harassment and discrimination on the job.
  • Employers must avoid improperly classifying remote workers as independent contractors.
  • Employers must also avoid improperly classifying remote workers as “exempt” employees.
  • When it comes to data security and related issues, employers must give due consideration to the unique risks that each employee’s workplace entails.

With that said, employers may need to take various additional steps to manage their risk related to hiring remote workers. For example, employers may need to ensure that in-office workers do not unduly receive preferential treatment over remote workers (or vice versa), and employers may need to adopt data security and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies that are specific to remote workers.

5 Examples of Key Policies for Employers with Remote Employees

With this in mind, even though employers generally are not legally required to adopt policies related to remote work, most (if not all) employers will benefit from putting some key policies in place. Here are five examples:

1. Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Policies

Covered employers must comply with all applicable state and federal anti-harassment and discrimination laws. These laws—including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the South Carolina Human Affairs Law, among others—apply equally to onsite and remote workers. Employers should adopt policies that are designed to ensure remote workers are not treated differently based on their race, religion, sex, disability, age, or any other protected characteristics.

2. Compensation, Benefits, and Advancement Policies

Employers should also adopt policies that are designed to ensure fair treatment with respect to compensation, benefits, and advancement. For example, remote workers are still entitled to equal pay for substantially equal work, and non-exempt remote workers are entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). These entitlements, among others, can come into play when it comes to making decisions regarding pay raises and promotions as well.

3. Workplace Safety Policies and Workers’ Compensation

While employers are not responsible for safety hazards in employees’ homes in most cases, exceptions apply. For example, if an employee does relatively high-risk work at home or uses company-provided equipment, the company may need to ensure compliance with applicable safety standards.

In all cases, however, employees who work at home may be able to claim workers’ compensation benefits if they get injured on the job. As a result, employers that allow remote work will want to consider adopting policies that are designed to help mitigate the risk of remote workers suffering on-the-job injuries.

4. Data Security and Confidentiality Policies

As a general rule, employers have an obligation to adequately protect employee and consumer data regardless of where the data is stored. Employers may need to protect sensitive and proprietary data as well. When allowing employees to work from home, employers should ensure that they have adequate data security and confidentiality policies in place.

5. Paid and Unpaid Leave Policies

Employers that allow remote work should ensure that they have appropriate paid and unpaid leave policies as well. Generally speaking, employees who work from home should be required to account for time off just like everyone else, and employers must be careful to ensure that they do not violate the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or other applicable law when making decisions about remote workers’ requests for time off.

As you can see, in many respects, these policies are not unique to remote work. This is a function of what we discussed above regarding the similarities between employers’ compliance obligations in relation to in-office and remote workers. Ultimately, effectively managing employment-related risk is about taking a custom-tailored approach based on each employer’s specific risks and needs.

Are Your Company’s Remote Work Policies Up To Date?

So, are your company’s remote work policies up to date? When it comes to potential employment-related liability, even a single oversight can have significant financial consequences. If you have questions or concerns about what your company should be doing to manage its remote work-related risk in 2026, we invite you to contact us for more information.

Request a Call with a South Carolina Employment Attorney at Bettis Law Group, LLP

Bettis Law Group, LLP is a South Carolina employment law firm that exclusively represents employers. Our lawyers are available to assist companies in Charleston and statewide with effectively managing their risk on an ongoing basis. To request a confidential consultation, please call 803-799-9311 or tell us how we can get in touch online today.