VOLUME 14 NUMBER 12 ■ COLUMBIABUSINESSREPORT.COM
Back in full swing
Part of the
HOSPITALITY SOS Recovering industry still in need of workers
S.C. State Fair returning with emphasis on satefy. Page 2
SEPTEMBER 13-26, 2021 ■ $2.25
network
Immigration changes could pave path to workforce growth By Melinda Waldrop
F Nephron mandate West Columbia company requiring vaccinations. Page 6
Place of refuge
University of South Carolina named Anne Frank partner. Page 7
City of Women
Columbia project adds nine honorees to ranks. Page 9
INSIDE
Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 In Focus: Human Resources .............. 12 List: Executive Recruiting Firms.................................. 14 Bonus List: Industrial Staffing Agencies ............................ 15 At Work............................... 17 Viewpoint........................... 20
By Christina Lee Knauss
T
Contributing Writer
he popular Midlands restaurant chain Lizard’s Thicket closed its Beltline Boulevard location in recent weeks. There’s nothing wrong with the building and the chain isn’t giving up on the location — it’s a temporary shutdown because there isn’t enough staff to keep it open. The locally owned chain joins many restaurants around the state in facing a labor shortage, happening despite recent statistics that show the unemployment rate in South Carolina falling overall and the hiring rate in many industries, including leisure and hospitality, increasing.
Ending a statewide labor shortage was a goal of S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s directive to end federal pandemic unemployment benefits starting June 26. South Carolina was one of 26 states to withdraw federal benefits before they ended nationwide on Sept. 6. While some industries, hospitality in particular, have seen employment numbers increase, they are still not attracting enough workers to operate at normal, pre-pandemic levels. “The hospitality sector was experiencing staffing challenges before the pandemic began, and COVID-19 exacerbated the problem,” said Duane Parrish, director of See HOSPITALITY, Page 13
Helping hand
General operating grants provide boost to seven Midlands nonprofits. Page 11
mwaldrop@scbiznews.com
rank Knapp sees one straightforward solution to the labor shortage facing many industries as the nation continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic: Make more workers available. Three pieces of legislation currently before the U.S. Senate can help accomplish that goal, said Knapp, president and CEO of the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce. The bills, including the bipartisan Durbin-Graham Act of 2021 co-sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, would provide a path to legal status for three key groups of potential laborers: immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, known as Dreamers; recipients of Temporary Protective Status; and farmworkers. “If we’re going to do anything about immigration reform, let’s take care of the people who are here working, contributing, paying their taxes,” Knapp said. “This is the time to do it. We have an economic need for them to contribute more.” In February, Graham, a South Carolina Republican, and Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, introduced for the third time the Dream Act, which would allow immigrant students without lawful status brought to the U.S. as children to earn lawful permanent residence and eventually American citizenship. Dreamers, granted work permits and freedom from deportation under DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, would have to meet educational and work requirements and have not committed a felony, among other stipulations. Immigration reform efforts could also be addressed more sweepingly in a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that has passed the Senate and moved forward in the U.S. House of Representatives last month. The resolution, to be voted on again in the House on Sept. 27 before returning to the Senate, would allocate $107 See WORKFORCE, Page 13