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A Review of the Human Affairs Commission's Hiring Practices and Timeliness of Investigations
March 2000

REPORT (PDF)     SUMMARY (PDF)

Members of the General Assembly requested that we conduct a limited review of the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission (SHAC). We were asked to review the timeliness of SHAC’s investigations and to determine whether the commission’s hiring practices have been in compliance with law.

A primary function of the Human Affairs Commission is to receive, investigate and resolve complaints alleging unlawfully discriminatory employment and housing practices. In federal FY 98-99 SHAC completed 1,158 employment discrimination investigations.

  • The average length of time to complete an employment discrimination investigation increased 23% from 146 days to 180 days over the past five years, and the inventory of pending cases has increased.
  • For the last three federal fiscal years, SHAC has not met its goal of completing 60% of investigations within 180 days and has not regularly monitored its progress in meeting the goals stated in its annual accountability reports.

However, SHAC’s employment discrimination investigations have been more timely than those conducted by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

In FY 98-99 SHAC also completed 37 fair housing investigations. We did not identify significant problems with the timeliness of fair housing investigations. For the past three years, the average length of time to complete an investigation has been below the statutory limit of 100 days.

The Human Affairs Commission has generally been in compliance with state laws and regulations that govern the hiring process. However, SHAC’s contract for a full-time lobbyist should be re-evaluated. Also, SHAC has not complied with statutory requirements for reporting lobbying expenditures.