Legal Question in Employment Law in South Carolina

Re: Losing job

While it's impossible to say for sure without a full consultation, as there may be facts involved not mentioned in this question that could change the outcome, I'd have to say, "Unfortunately, probably not" - at least on the face of the question as presented.

South Carolina as a state has embraced a legal concept called "employment at will." This means that you can quit - and your employer can fire you - at any time, for "any reason or no reason whatsoever".

There is a limitation on that power to fire, of course; if the termination violates public policy (one of a handful of rationales deemed by SC courts as so vital to the public interest that they're tantamount to a violation of law - these are usually things like "firing because you testified against the employer in a worker's comp case") or if the termination violates a right established by federal or state law. Examples of the latter would include Title VII's prohibition against employment actions taken on the basis of race, national origin, sex, and religion, or the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibition against termination of disabled people who can perform the essential functions of their jobs because of their disabilities.

Barring an impermissible reason behind the firing such as one of these laws or a public policy exemption, it doesn't appear that a decision to terminate an employee who's already given notice that he intends to quit at some indeterminate point in the future would give rise to a cause of action. The object lesson here is a practical one: don't tell your boss your plans until you're sure of them yourself, and be prepared for the eventuality that you will be terminated on the spot.

As for severance pay, that's purely a matter of negotiation and company policy. You can certainly ask, but there is no generally applicable "right" to severance pay barring an employment contract that provides for such pay under certain circumstances. Even then, the right would be limited to the enumerated circumstances.

Good luck with your move - hopefully better times lie ahead!