Return-to-Work Mandates Tested in ACLU’s South Carolina Case

The American Civil Liberties Union’s legal challenge to a South Carolina return-to-work order for state employees points to broader legal questions that other jurisdictions, and private businesses, will face if they hasten a return to normalcy.

Citing a decline in new Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, Gov. Henry McMaster in March ordered state agencies to “immediately expedite” the return of non-essential state employees to in-person work by the beginning of this month.

The ACLU’s lawsuit, filed in state court on April 5, said the Republican governor exceeded his authority and argued that his order would disproportionately harm women, caregivers, people ...