Employment Discrimination Economic Damages Expert in South Carolina

By Christopher Skerritt, M.Ed., MBA, Chief of Economic Services · Published · Reviewed

KW Economics prepares economic damages analyses for employment discrimination cases venued in South Carolina: the components the loss claim consists of, the records that drive them, and a present value built to South Carolina's damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.

An employment discrimination economic claim measures the gap between the compensation the employee would have received absent the adverse action and the compensation actually received, as back pay, front pay, and lost benefits net of mitigation. Read the full employment discrimination analysis guide.

South Carolina courts and expert standards

South Carolina courts ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the opinion rests on a reliable basis, and whether it will assist the fact finder, under a reliability inquiry of the state's own that does not adopt the federal test. An economic damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its application to the record.

Where these cases are heard

Highest court: Supreme Court of South Carolina. Federal venues: D.S.C. Court system: sccourts.org.

Damages framework

South Carolina reduces a negligence-based award by the plaintiff's share of fault and bars recovery once that share exceeds the combined fault of the defendants. Prejudgment interest is generally limited to liquidated sums, such as an unpaid contract balance, and not awarded on unliquidated damages. Statutory limits apply to noneconomic damages in medical malpractice claims while economic damages are unlimited, so the economist's figure enters the case at its full present value, with the liquidated components identified separately.

How the analysis is built

The same four steps apply to an employment discrimination case venued in South Carolina; the damages framework above decides which components enter the total.

  1. Reconstruct the but-for compensation path from the employee's history and the employer's pay practices, including raises, bonus patterns, and benefit accruals.
  2. Compare that path with actual post-action earnings year by year, crediting mitigation from the employee's records or from local wage and unemployment duration data.
  3. Project front pay over the period the record supports for reaching comparable employment, with the loss shown at alternative durations.
  4. Separate back pay, front pay, and benefits, discount the future amounts to present value, and supply the schedule counsel needs for prejudgment interest.

Attorney guides for employment discrimination cases

Other case types in South Carolina

Frequently asked: employment discrimination cases in South Carolina

Which South Carolina courts hear employment discrimination cases?

Employment Discrimination cases venued in South Carolina are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; larger civil cases, felonies; two divisions, Common Pleas for civil and General Sessions for criminal matters). Final appeals run to the Supreme Court of South Carolina. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.

How does South Carolina's damages framework shape the economic analysis?

South Carolina reduces a negligence-based award by the plaintiff's share of fault and bars recovery once that share exceeds the combined fault of the defendants. Prejudgment interest is generally limited to liquidated sums, such as an unpaid contract balance, and not awarded on unliquidated damages. Statutory limits apply to noneconomic damages in medical malpractice claims while economic damages are unlimited, so the economist's figure enters the case at its full present value, with the liquidated components identified separately. South Carolina courts ask whether the economist is qualified by training and experience, whether the opinion rests on a reliable basis, and whether it will assist the fact finder, under a reliability inquiry of the state's own that does not adopt the federal test. An economic damages report meets that inquiry by showing the published basis for each assumption and its application to the record.

More questions about employment discrimination analysis

References

Request a consultation on employment discrimination cases in South Carolina or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.