Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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South Carolina program

Time off to care for your child (FMLA and sick leave)

Federal FMLA can protect unpaid time off to care for your child. Employer benefits and qualifying public-employee sick leave may supply pay.

What it is

Federal FMLA can protect unpaid time off to care for your child. Employer benefits and qualifying public-employee sick leave may supply pay.

Time off, pay and job protection are separate questions. FMLA may protect eligible leave while your employer’s own policy supplies pay. State employees can use a limited amount of accrued sick leave for family illness.

Eligibility rules
  • Private employers are covered by FMLA at 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks. Public agencies and covered schools have no employer-size floor.
  • An employee generally needs 12 months with the employer, 1,250 hours worked in the prior year and 50 employees within 75 miles.
What you get
  • Up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected FMLA leave when you meet the federal rules.
  • Up to ten accrued sick days a year for an ill immediate family member if you are a state employee.
What the help includes
  • South Carolina has no statewide paid sick-leave requirement for private workers. Employer policies may offer more.
  • Local governments cannot require benefits from private employers, but can set benefits for their own employees.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask HR in writing which leave laws and employer benefits apply to your job.
  2. Have your start date, hours worked in the last year and the team’s expected treatment schedule ready.

The employer, under the federal law · Official page ↗

If you decide to go ahead
  • HR can confirm the leave dates, whether employer pay runs alongside FMLA and the medical certification needed.
Good to know

Being employed by a public agency or school does not by itself establish your FMLA eligibility. The employee tests still matter.

Other details
  • The October 1, 2026 public paid-parental-leave changes concern qualifying birth, adoption or fostering events, not leave solely to care for a child’s existing illness. Your social worker can help HR check the rules for the employer and event; this is separate from accrued family sick leave.
  • The ten sick days for family illness apply to state employees. School districts, cities and counties set their own rules, so ask HR what your employer allows.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Which leave would protect my job, and which would pay me while I care for my child? Could you help us ask HR about both before we decide?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand how time away from work would affect our income and my job.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Ask HR in writing, and keep the answer.

Your social worker

The oncology team writes the medical certification the federal law asks for.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The employer, under the federal law.
Ask HR
“My child is in cancer treatment. Does the federal job-protection law cover this employer, and what does our own policy give me? Please answer in writing.”

How to apply

First step: Ask HR in writing which leave laws apply and what the employer's own policy gives.

  1. Ask HR in writing whether the federal job-protection law covers your employer, and what the employer's own leave policy gives.
  2. If you work for a school district, a city or the state, ask specifically, because the size rule works differently for public employers.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask HR in writing which leave laws apply to your employer and what the employer's own policy gives.

What to gather

  • The employee handbook
  • Your start date and hours worked in the last year
  • A note from the team about appointments

How long: The federal law gives up to 12 weeks in a year for an eligible employee.

What a yes looks like

Written confirmation of leave and the dates it covers.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the employer is too small, ask what unpaid time it will give anyway, and get it in writing before deciding anything.

Watch out

  • Local governments cannot make private employers give benefits, so there is no city sick-leave law to find.
  • If you work for a school, a city or the state, the federal size rule works differently. Ask by name.
  • The October 1, 2026 public paid-parental-leave changes concern qualifying birth, adoption or fostering events, not care solely for an existing illness. HR confirms the employer and event rules.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Federal FMLA can protect eligible unpaid sick-child leave. Employer benefits and qualifying public-employee sick leave may supply pay.

  • $10/year — Accrued sick days a state employee can use a year for an ill family member

Legal protection: The federal job-protection law reaches public agencies and covered schools with no employee-count floor, which matters for a teacher or a state worker

What it costs the family: Nothing.

The eligibility facts, as published

State paid leave
none found for private employers
Local mandates
a political subdivision cannot require an employee benefit of a private employer, though it can set benefits for its own employees
State employees
up to ten accrued sick days a year for an ill immediate family member
Federal
private employers covered at 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks; public agencies and covered schools have no size floor; the employee needs 50 staff within 75 miles

The trap: Assuming a school district or a city has its own scheme. Local governments cannot impose benefits on private employers, but they can set their own employees' benefits, and teacher and municipal rules were not published anywhere we could read. Ask your own HR in writing.

Where I read this

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