About blue laws

Will workers be required to work on Sundays during regular church services? * South Carolina law protects workers' rights not to work on a person's holy day for religious reasons, according to a 2000 state Attorney General's opinion. If the county suspends Sunday blue laws, any employee of any business which operates on Sunday under the provisions of this section has the option of refusing to work. An employer who fires or demotes an employee because he is a conscientious objector to Sunday work is subject to a civil penalties, according to the Attorney General's opinion. Also, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion in hiring, firing and other terms and conditions of employment. Employers must reasonably accommodate employees' sincerely held religious practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

About blue laws * Counties that have voted to suspend Sunday blue laws: Pickens, Spartanburg, Lancaster and York * Counties exempt from Sunday blue laws because of the total sales tax revenue each generates annually: Charleston, Horry, Beaufort, Georgetown, Greenville and Richland

Items prohibited from sale * clothing and clothing accessories * housewares * china * glassware * kitchenware * home, business and office furnishings and appliances * tools * paints * hardware * building supplies * lumber * jewelry * silverware * watches * clocks * luggage * musical instruments * radios * T.V. sets * record players or so-called hi-fi or stereo sets * sporting goods (except when sold on premises where sporting events and recreational facilities) * yard or piece goods * automobiles * trucks * trailers Exceptions to prohibition of Sunday work and sales: * sale of food needs, ice or soft drinks * sale of tobacco and related products * the providing of medical services and supplies * operation of funeral homes and cemeteries * the transportation by air, land or water or persons or property * operation of public utilities * operation of public lodging or eating places * janitorial, custodial services * sale of novelties, souvenirs, paper products, educational supplies, cameras, film, flash bulbs and cubes, batteries, baby supplies, hosiery and undergarments, flowers, plants, seeds and shrubs * sale or rental of swimming, fishing and boating equipment * any farming operations necessary for the preservation of agricultural commodities * sale of light bulbs or fluorescent tubes * the providing of any service, product or other thing by means of a mechanical device not requiring the labor of any person * the sale of art and craft objects at arts or craft exhibitions Penalties * A fine of not less than $50 nor more than $250 in the case of the first offense and by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500 for each and every subsequent offense.