Could a South Carolina county cut a part-time magistrate’s hours and total pay when a new term began?

Plain-English summary

Charleston County’s deputy attorney asked whether a county could reduce a part-time magistrate’s hours and total salary when a new four-year term began after a material change, such as annexation or a lower caseload. The AG agreed. The opinion read the magistrate appointment and compensation provisions together: the county could change the hours at the statutory point and the part-time salary could then fall in proportion to those hours.

The distinction was between total compensation and the hourly basis of salary. The opinion relied on an earlier AG interpretation that proportional reduction of total pay did not violate the protection against reducing a reappointed magistrate’s salary, assuming the hourly basis itself was not cut. It did not approve reducing hours or pay at any point in a term without meeting the stated conditions.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1996. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Did a new four-year term alone allow a county to cut a part-time magistrate’s hours? A: The opinion required a material change in conditions that warranted the change, as well as the statutory timing. It used annexation and workload as examples supplied in the request.

Q: Could total pay go down when the scheduled hours went down? A: Yes, the AG said a proportionate decrease followed from the part-time compensation formula, assuming the hourly salary basis was not reduced.

Q: Who fixed a part-time magistrate’s weekly hours under the cited provision? A: The opinion quoted a provision assigning that decision to the county governing body on the chief magistrate’s recommendation, using average hours worked, including scheduled on-call time.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion quoted S.C. Code Ann. §22-2-10 on four-year position notices and changes after a material change in conditions. It also quoted Section 22-8-40(D), which expressed part-time pay as a proportion of full-time pay based on weekly hours divided by forty, and discussed §22-8-40(1)’s protection against reducing an incumbent’s salary during continued tenure. Its conclusion followed earlier AG opinions from 1988 and 1991.

Citations and references

Statutes discussed: S.C. Code Ann. §22-2-10; Section 22-8-40(D); §22-8-40(1).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/may-14-1996/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/96may14bloodgood.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF T HE ATTORNEY GENERAL
CHA RLES MOLON Y CON DON
A'TTO RNEY GENERAL

May 14, 1996

Ms. Nancy Bloodgood, Esquire
Deputy County Attorney
2 Courthouse Square, Room 401
Charleston, South Carolina 29401-2263
RE: Informal Opinion
Dear Ms. Bloodgood:
By your letter of April 2, 1996, you requested an opinion as to whether every four years, upon commencement of new magisterial terms, part-time magistrates' hours may be reduced if there is a material change in conditions (i .e., annexation of county territory or less work, as indicated by caseload), so that a county could correspondingly reduce the salary proportionately to the number of hours worked by the magistrate in the new term? You have concluded that such may be done; for the reasons following, I concur with your conclusion. As you observed in your request letter, tlm Office issued an opinion on July 31 , 1991, concerning changes which might be made in magistrates' salaries and hours. Of specific relevance to your question is the following from that opinion: The opportunity for change in the number of full-time/part-time positions, number of hours worked, and cvmpensation for each position is also referenced pursuant to the language in S.62 [now S.C. Code Ann. §221-1 O] which mandates that if the county governing body fails to timely inform the Senators in the manner specified, the positions remain as previously established. The opportunity for change is further provided for by the language "(e)ach magistrate's number of work hours, compensation, and work location must remain the same . .. except for a change ... authorized by the county governing body at least four years after the
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Ms. Nancy Bloodgood, Esquire
Page 2
May 14, 1996

magistrate's most recent appointment and after a material change m
conditions has occurred which warrants the change." 1
In addition, in an opinion dated April 29, 1991, the issue of reduction of the salary
of a current part-time magistrate being reduced upon reappointed to a new four year term,
in proportion to the reduction of that part-time magistrate's hours, was addressed.
Referencing an opinion dated February 16, 1988, in which it was concluded that the hours
for part-time magistrates could vary, as well as S.C. Code Ann. §22-8-40(0), this Office
stated:
... pursuant to Section 22-8-40(0) part-time magistrates are
entitled to a proportionate percentage of the salary provided
full-time magistrates ... (S)uch percentage is computed by
dividing by forty the number of hours the part-time magistrate
spends perfonning his duties .. . [I]t appears that part-time
magistrates' "salaries" should be considered on an hourly

1

S.C. Code Ann. §22-2-10 (1995 Cum. Supp.) provides in relevant part:
At least ninety days before the date of the commencement of the
terms provided in the preceding paragraph and every four years thereafter,
each county governing body must inform, in writing, the Senators representing that county of the number of full-time and part-time magistrate positions
available in the county, the number of work hours required by each position,
the compensation for each position, and the area of the county to which
each position is assigned. If the county governing body fails to inform, in
writing, the Senators representing that county of the information as required
in this section, then the compensation, hours, and location of the full-time
and part-time magistrate positions available in the county remain as
designated for the previous four years.
Each magistrate's number of work hours, compensation, and work
location must remain the same throughout the term of office, except for a
change ( l) specifica11y allowed by statute or (2) authorized by the county
governing body at least four years after the magistrate's most recent
appointment and after a material change in conditions has occurred which
warrants the change. ... [Emphasis added.]

· Clearly, the ability to change work hours, compensation, and work location of a magistrate
is contemplated upon the conditions stated.

Ms. Nancy Bloodgood, Esquire
Page 3
May 14, 1996
wage basis and not as a fixed sum received regardless of the
number of hours worked. .. .
Consistent with this conclusion that a part-time magistrate's salary
should be considered on an hourly wage basis, it appears that the compensation of a current part-time magistrate could be reduced in proportion to the
reduction in the part-time magistrate's hours. There would not be a conflict
with Section 22-8-40(!) assuming that the salary on an hourly basis is not
being reduced.
·
Section 22-8-40(D) provides as to compensation of part-time magistrates:
Part-time magistrates are entitled to a proportionate percentage of the
salary provided for full-time magistrates. This percentage is computed by
dividing by forty the number of hours a we~k the part-time magistrate
spends in the perfonnance of his duties. The number of hours a week that
a part-time magistrate spends in the exercise of the judicial function, and
scheduled to be spent on call, must be the average number of hours worked
and is fixed by the county governing body upon the recommendation of the
chief magistrate.
In addition, the referenced §22-8-40(1) provides that
[a] magistrate who is receiving a salary greater than provided for his
position under the provisions of this chapter must ~ot be reduced in salary
during his tenure in office. Tenure in office continues at the expiration of
a term if the incumbent magistrate is reappointed.
Based on the foregoing, I concur with your conclusion that every four years, upon
the commencement of new magisterial terms, part-time magistrates' hours may be reduced
if there is a material change in conditions and that the county can correspondingly reduce
the salary proportionately to the number of hours worked by the magistrate in the new
tenn.
This letter is an infonnal opinion only. It has been written by a designated Senior
Assistant Attorney General and represents the position of the undersigned attorney as m
the specific questions asked. It has not, however, been personally scrutinized by the
Attorney General nor officially published in the manner of a formal opinion.

Ms. Nancy Bloodgood, Esquire
Page 4
May 14, 1996
With kindest regards, I am
Sincerely,

f6Mb·~
Patricia D. Petway
Senior Assistant Attorney General