Human Affairs Commission asks Legislature for two staff positions and recurring IT upgrades

MARVIN CALDWELL, interim commissioner of the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission, asked the Senate Finance Committee’s Transportation and Regulatory Subcommittee on the commission’s behalf for two additional full-time positions and recurring information-technology funding to support training, community outreach and daily operations.

Caldwell told the subcommittee that one request is for a second equal employment opportunity (EEO) training coordinator to meet growing demand for both in-person and virtual trainings. "First, I wanna express gratitude for the FTEs and the money that was allocated to us last year. We found them to be extremely beneficial," Caldwell said. He described the training position as a prevention-focused role designed to reduce the volume of discrimination investigations by providing employer- and employee-facing education across the state.

The commission described its mission as preventing and eliminating unlawful discrimination in employment, fair housing and public accommodations through consultative services and enforcement. Caldwell said the commission is contracted with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate employment-discrimination claims and participates in the state fair housing assistance program with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing discrimination matters.

Caldwell said the single existing coordinator conducted 53 in-person training events last fiscal year and trained more than 4,000 people across state and private-sector audiences, and that demand continues to grow. "That person is booked right now for equal employment opportunities," he added when asked how workload was measured.

The second requested FTE is a community relations staffer to expand the commission’s local outreach. Caldwell described the community relations unit as responsible for establishing and supporting community relations councils across the state to encourage local resolution of disputes and improve race relations. The commission currently has four staff in community relations, each covering about 11 counties of the state’s 46 counties; Caldwell said the unit had been larger before staffing reductions during the last recession.

Caldwell also requested recurring IT funding to replace laptops and docking stations on a four-year rotation. He said the agency has roughly 60 FTEs and that 17 laptops were purchased about five years ago; the commission proposes rotating about 15 laptops every four years (approximately 25 percent of devices each cycle) and replacing docking stations used for dual-monitor setups. The commission said the upgrades would improve reliability, performance and customer service.

Senators on the subcommittee asked about board vacancies and oversight. Caldwell said the commission still has vacancies on its board — "I wanna say offhand, four" — and that J.T. McLawhorn currently serves as board chair. He also confirmed he has served as interim commissioner for a little over two years.

No formal action or vote occurred during the hearing on the commission’s requests. The subcommittee followed with questions about evaluation metrics, county coverage and training content; Caldwell described typical training length (about three to four hours) and additional course topics, including harassment, pregnancy and lactation support training.

The Human Affairs Commission presentation was followed by questions and continued budget hearings with other agencies.