Title 43, Social Services

Any applicant for employment or promotion may personally, or by his representative, file a written complaint of alleged violations of the provisions of this article with the agency concerned within ninety days of the alleged violations. The agency shall make a decision concerning…

For reasons set forth in SECTION 43-33-20, persons who are handicapped and who customarily use motorized wheelchairs or motorized carts for locomotion shall not be prohibited from using such wheelchairs or carts on the strand of the seacoast of this State.

The driver of a vehicle approaching a totally or partially blind pedestrian who is carrying a cane predominantly white or metallic in color (with or without a red tip) or approaching a handicapped pedestrian using an assistance dog shall take all necessary precautions to avoid in…

The General Assembly finds that by executive order in 1977 the Governor designated an eleemosynary corporation now known as "Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc.", as the organization to perform the function of advocate for citizens with developmental disabi…

Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. is governed by a board consisting of a minimum of twelve members and a maximum of sixteen members. Four members must be appointed by the Governor, one member from each of the system's four regions. Eight members must be e…

As used in this article, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) "System" means Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (2) "Developmental disability" means a severe, chronic disability of a person which: (a) is attributable to a mental or physical impairmen…

The system has the following powers and duties: (1) It shall protect and advocate for the rights of all persons with a developmental or other disability, including the requirements of Section 113 of Public Law 94-103, Section 105 of Public Law 99-319, and Section 112 of Public La…

Upon the receipt of a complaint, the System may interview the person making the complaint or the person on whose behalf the complaint is made.

Upon (A) the receipt of a written request to investigate a complaint that has been signed by a person with a developmental or other disability, his parent, legal guardian, any relative or a state agency; or upon (B) the receipt of a complaint of abuse or threatened abuse to a per…

The system shall not disclose the name or identity of any person, complainant, witness or subject of a complaint or any information or writing relating thereto unless the person or his parent or legal guardian authorizes in writing the release of such information but the system m…

Any person providing information to the System or who participates in judicial proceedings resulting therefrom, acting in good faith, shall be immune from civil and criminal liability which might otherwise result by reason of such actions. In all such civil or criminal proceeding…

(A) It is unlawful for a person or his agent to: (1) deny or interfere with admittance to or enjoyment of the public facilities enumerated in Section 43-33-20; or (2) interfere with the rights of a totally or partially blind or disabled person under Section 43-33-20. (B) A person…

All departments, officers, agencies and institutions of the State shall cooperate with the system in carrying out its duties. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all departments, officers, agencies and institutions of the State may, on the behalf of a person with a develo…

Each year, the Governor shall take suitable public notice of October fifteenth as White Cane Safety Day. He shall issue a proclamation in which: (a) he comments upon the significance of the white cane; (b) he calls upon the citizens of the State to observe the provisions of the W…

This article may be cited as the South Carolina Bill of Rights for Handicapped Persons.

The opportunity to obtain housing, full and equal use of public accommodations, public services, and to make use of educational facilities without discrimination because of a handicap is guaranteed by this article and is a civil right.

No person may discriminate against a handicapped person with respect to public accommodations, public services, or housing without reasonable justification. No protection or right of access provided by law for handicapped persons is reduced or eliminated by the provisions of this…

A handicapped person aggrieved by the discrimination prohibited by this article has the right to seek injunctive relief or civil damages, not to exceed five thousand dollars actual damages, plus his attorney's fee and costs, in the court of common pleas.

Notwithstanding Section 2-7-35, "handicap" and "handicapped" as used in this article mean a substantial physical or mental impairment, whether congenital or acquired by accident, injury, or disease, where the impairment is verified by medical findings and appears reasonably certa…

For purposes of this article, "reasonable justification" in the context of housing and public services must be determined in light of the following factors, among others: (1) safety; (2) efficiency; and (3) cost.

It is the policy of this State that the blind, the visually handicapped, and the otherwise physically disabled shall be employed in the State service, the service of the political subdivisions of the State, in the public schools, and in all other employment supported in whole or …

(a) Blind persons, visually handicapped persons, and other physically disabled persons shall be entitled to full and equal access, as other members of the general public, to all housing accommodations offered for rent, lease, or compensation in this State, subject to the conditio…