S 1043

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 1043
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
Amended
May 14, 2026
S. 1043
Introduced
by Senators Adams, Zell, Leber and Graham
S. Printed 5/14/26--H.  [SEC
5/15/2026 10:02 AM]
Read the first time May 13, 2026
________
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS SO AS TO ENACT
THE "CIVIL AIR PATROL LEAVE ACT"; BY ADDING CHAPTER 23 TO TITLE 25 SO AS TO
DEFINE TERMS RELATED TO THE CIVIL AIR PATROL LEAVE ACT, TO PROVIDE FOR THE
CREATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF CIVIL AIR PATROL LEAVE, TO PRESCRIBE THE DUTIES
OF EMPLOYEES AND RIGHTS OF EMPLOYERS REGARDING CIVIL AIR PATROL LEAVE, TO
PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS, AND TO PROVIDE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
PROTECTIONS.
    Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "Civil Air Patrol Leave Act".
SECTION 2.  Title 25 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:
CHAPTER 23
Civil Air Patrol Leave Act
    Section
25-23-10.  As used in this section:
    (1)
"Civil Air Patrol leave" means leave requested under the provisions of this act
by an employee who is a Civil Air Patrol member.
    (2)
"Civil Air Patrol member" means an individual who is a member of the official
civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force known as the Civil Air
Patrol, primarily represented within the State by the South Carolina Wing of
Civil Air Patrol.
    (3)
"Emergency service operation" means any Air Force-assigned mission, Civil Air Patrol
National Operations-assigned mission, state of emergency or disaster declared
by the President of the United States or Governor of South Carolina that
encompasses any part of the State of South Carolina, or any request for
assistance by any department, agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision
of the State.
    (4)
"Employee" includes a resident individual receiving wages, as defined in
Section 12-8-520(D), for services, regardless of where the services are
rendered, and a nonresident individual receiving wages, as defined in Section
12-8-520(D), for services rendered in this State.
    (5) "Employee
benefits" means anything of value that an employee may receive from an employer
in addition to wages. This term includes, but is not limited to, any health
benefits, disability benefits, death benefits, group accidental death and
dismemberment benefits, paid holidays, paid sick leave, paid vacation leave,
paid personal necessity leave, retirement benefits, and profit-sharing
benefits.
    (6)
"Mutual aid request" means any request from another state or political
subdivision of a state seeking assistance for an emergency service operation.
    Section
25-23-20.  (A) Public and private
employers shall provide a minimum of thirty days per calendar year of Civil Air
Patrol leave to employees for the purpose of response to an emergency service
operation of the Civil Air Patrol. This leave may be used in support of mutual
aid requests by other states or Civil Air Patrol units outside the employee's
chain of command with prior approval of his employer and the employee's wing
commander or his designee.
    (B)
Public and private employers shall provide a minimum of ten days per year of
Civil Air Patrol leave to employees for the purpose of training and proficiency
activities, which may be administered by the Civil Air Patrol, the United
States Air Force, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or other emergency
management-related organizations.
    (C)
Employers shall have discretion to grant additional days leave beyond the
requirements listed above or permit employees to utilize up to five days of
Civil Air Patrol leave from one category for the purposes of the other, in the
event that the desired leave category has an insufficient balance.
    (D)
Public employers shall pay employees for all Civil Air Patrol leave taken
during a calendar year at the employee's current pay rate. Private employers
may provide Civil Air Patrol leave as paid or unpaid leave. Unused Civil Air
Patrol leave shall not be paid out when an employee leaves employment with his
employer.
    (E)
Civil Air Patrol leave shall be available in a lump sum at the start of each
calendar year to eligible employees. Unused leave shall be forfeited at the end
of calendar year and will not be carried over to a new calendar year.
    Section
25-23-30.  (A) An employee shall:
       (1)
notify his employer of his Civil Air Patrol membership within thirty days of
accepting a job with a public or private employer;
       (2)
within eight hours of ending participation in an emergency service operation,
inform his employer of his intent to return;
       (3)
return to work within eighteen hours of ending participation in an emergency
service operation, or at the start of his next regular workday, whichever is
later; and
       (4)
update his employer periodically on the expected duration of any absence and
expected date of return due to an emergency service operation, as possible.
    (B) An
employer may require an employee taking Civil Air Patrol leave to provide:
       (1)
for training-related leave:
  (a)
at least two weeks' notice of his absence;
  (b)
his date of return to work;
  (c)
approval of the employee's participation in the requested training by his Civil
Air Patrol group commander or higher authority; and
  (d)
proof of participation, to include the dates of training, from the training
provider or his designee; or
       (2)
for operation-related leave:
  (a)
as much notice as possible for expected absences due to an emergency service
operation;
  (b)
approval of the employee's participation in the operation from his Civil Air
Patrol group commander or higher authority, the incident commander, or the
requesting organization; and
  (c)
proof of participation from the operation's leadership or his designee.
    Section
25-23-40.  (A) No employer is
required to grant Civil Air Patrol leave to an employee who is required to
respond to either the same or other simultaneous emergency service operation as
a first responder, emergency manager, or other emergency services personnel for
a local, state, or federal agency.
    (B) An
employer may deny a request for Civil Air Patrol leave for an employee who has
been designated as an essential employee. Employers should work with employees
to provide access to Civil Air Patrol leave whenever the employee's absence
will not result in demonstrable harm or disruption to daily operations. An
employee shall notify his Civil Air Patrol chain of command of his designation as
an essential employee as soon as possible.
    Section
25-23-50.  (A) Civil Air Patrol
leave shall be administered as a separate leave category. An employee seeking
to use Civil Air Patrol leave shall not be required to use or exhaust other
forms of leave prior to the use of Civil Air Patrol leave.
    (B)
During a leave of absence, an employee shall be entitled to preserve all the employee
benefits, rights, and privileges to which he is entitled.
    (C)
Any employee who utilizes Civil Air Patrol leave shall be entitled to return to
the position he held, or a position of equivalent status, pay, and benefits, when
the leave commenced. However, an employee is not entitled to return to the
position held, or a position of equivalent status, pay, and benefits if the
employer proves an employee was not restored to the same or similar position
due to causes separate from the exercise of rights contained within this chapter.
    (D) No
employer may discharge, reprimand, discriminate against, or otherwise
discipline an employee who is absent for use of Civil Air Patrol leave,
complies with the provisions of this act, or opposes a practice not in
compliance with the provisions of this act.
    (E) An
employee may bring a civil action against an employer who violates provisions
of this act, provided that any action is filed within one year in the county in
which the employee's place of employment is located. An employee may seek:
        (1)
reinstatement of the employee's former position;
        (2)
for a public employee, payment of back wages;
        (3)
employee benefits or seniority wrongly denied or withdrawn; and
        (4)
equitable relief to redress the violation or to enforce this act.
SECTION 3.  Within
thirty days of the effective date of this act, current members of the Civil Air
Patrol must notify their employers of their Civil Air Patrol membership.
SECTION 4.  If any section, subsection,
paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for
any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not
affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act,
the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and
each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause,
phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other
sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases,
or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise
ineffective.
SECTION 5.  This act takes effect on October 1,
2026, and applies to qualifying events that occur on or after that date.
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This web page was last updated on May 15, 2026 at 10:02 AM