Thank you for visiting this South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) web site. DEW is committed to preserving your privacy when you visit DEW websites. This privacy statement addresses the collection, security and disclosure of information that may be obtained and  maintained by DEW.

WHAT WE COLLECT

When you visit our website, we may automatically gather and store the following information about your visit so that we can track how our website is used, in order to make improvements. This information is stored and used in the aggregate only and is not used to contact you personally.

1. If you are using this site to read or download information:

    For statistical purposes, we may collect and store the following information:

• the IP address from which you access our website;
• the name of the domain from which you access the Internet;
• the type of browser and operating system used to access our website;
• the date and time you access our site;
• the pages, files, documents, and links that you visit; and
• the website URL that referred you to this website (the address for the last website you visited before visiting this one).

2. If you are using this site to send us an email:

By sending us an electronic mail message, you may be sending us personal information (e.g., name, physical address, email address).  One example of this would be an official Freedom of Information Act request. We may store the name and addresses of the requester in order to respond to the request or to otherwise resolve the subject matter of your email.

This information is collected for purposes of determining what information is of most and least interest to all visitors and in improving content and performance of the web site. This information is not collected for commercial marketing purposes.

PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

DEW may collect personally identifiable information that you voluntarily provide while visiting any DEW maintained web site. Examples of personally identifiable information may include (but are not limited to):

• An e-mail address, if you are communicating with us through e-mail; 
  Information you voluntarily submit to DEW for the purposes of completing or submitting an application or form online; and 
• Other information volunteered, such as vendor profile/contact information, survey information or content of e-mail.

In general, please note the information collected, whether personally identifiable, is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video and other graphic formats you send us. Information is retained in accordance with existing laws, rules, regulations, and other policies.

WHAT WE DO WITH THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

Information obtained as a result of requests to DEW web sites will not be sold or given to any organization for marketing purposes.

If your data is stored in our system, it may be accessed by our staff members in the performance of their job duties and may be subject to disclosure by rule, regulation, or law. Your data may be used for the determination of eligibility for different benefits and for the administration of this agency.

In addition, information requests sent to DEW web sites may be maintained in order to respond to the request, forward that request to the appropriate department or agency, communicate updates to the system that may be of interest to citizens, or provide DEW web developers with valuable customer feedback to assist in improving the site.

The Family Privacy Protection Act of 2002, S. C. Code Ann. §§ 30-2-10 through 30-2-50, prohibits persons or private entities from using any personal information obtained from DEW’s web sites for commercial solicitation purposes. A person knowingly violating this prohibition is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to the penalties specified in S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-50(D).

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), 15 U.S.C. § 6501, et seq.: Our website is not geared towards children under 13 years of age.  Younger visitors should always check with their parents or guardians before entering information on any website, and we encourage families to discuss their household guidelines regarding the online sharing of personal information.

PUBLIC RECORDS AND WHERE WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION

Because DEW is a public agency, information collected on this site may be subject to disclosure under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  FOIA includes various exemptions, however, including an exemption that permits public bodies to withhold from disclosure certain types of information of a personal nature in order to preserve the privacy of individuals. Visitors should be aware that information collected by DEW on its websites may be subject to inspection, if such information is a public record or not otherwise protected from disclosure.

Information collected pursuant to the South Carolina Employment and Workforce Law is also protected from disclosure by the confidentiality provisions of S.C. Code Ann. §§ 41-29-160 et seq. and 20 C.F.R. § 603. However, exceptions can be found in S.C. Code Ann. §41-29-170 and in 20 C.F.R. § 603.5.  We also may be required, by law, to disclose your data without your consent and without notice in order to comply with a valid legal process, such as a subpoena, court order, or search warrant

HOW WE PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

DEW is committed to data security and the data quality of personally identifiable information that is either available from, or collected by, DEW web sites, and has taken precautions to protect personally identifiable information from loss, misuse or alteration. Data maintained in DEW’s systems will be protected using the security protocols established by the Division of Information Security (DIS).  The Division of Information Security’s policies and procedures may be viewed at http://www.admin.sc.gov/technology/information-security.

Any third parties responsible for this information are committed to the same principles, and also are required by contract to follow the same policies and guidelines as the State of South Carolina in protecting this information. Unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, rule or regulation, individuals will be given the ability to access and correct personally identifiable information maintained by us that may be in error.

COOKIES
In addition to information collected automatically, we use cookies to support the internal functionality of the website. Cookies, which are small pieces of information sent to your browser by a website that you visit, are stored on your computer and used to track usage patterns, traffic trends, and customer behavior, as well as to record other information from a website. When you register on this website, cookies also allow us to save information so that you will not have to re-enter it the next time you visit. Many content adjustments and customer service improvements are made based on the data derived from cookies.  Information that we collect from cookies will not be used to create profiles of individual users and only will be used in aggregate form. DEW may use cookies to store information on your computer.

LINK DISCLAIMER

Websites maintained by DEW may contain links to other websites, including those owned or maintained by other government, private, or not-for-profit entities. Such links are provided for convenience and/or information purposes only. A link does not constitute an endorsement of content, viewpoint, policies, products or services of that website. Once you link to a website not maintained by DEW, you are subject to the terms and conditions of that web site, including but not limited to its privacy policy.

INFORMATION DISCLAIMER

Information provided on web sites maintained by DEW is intended to allow the public convenient access to public information. While all attempts are made to provide accurate, current and reliable information, we cannot guarantee that the information will be error-free. Therefore, DEW and respective employees, officers and agencies expressly deny any guarantee of the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published through DEW web sites and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance upon the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information.

Any person, who relies upon such information obtained from these websites, does so at his or her own risk.

The contents of this website are published for information purposes only and subject to change without notice.