Monster close to Sunday work exemption in Florence County
FLORENCE — Monster, an online job recruitment and careers resource, is one step away from an exemption from state Sunday work prohibitions to ensure it can operate its future Florence County customer service center around the clock.
During a three-minute special called meeting Thursday, Florence County Council unanimously approved second reading of an ordinance to suspend the work restrictions. The ordinance would have no effect on Sunday retail or alcohol sales.
“They’re on the fast track,” council Chairman K.G. Rusty Smith said of Monster.
The company recently launched http://www.monsterhires.com/Florence, a recruiting section on its Web site dedicated to jobs at its Florence location.
The ordinance would allow an exemption to state law prohibiting work between midnight and 1:30 p.m. Sundays. It also applies to research and development, added at the request of Monster’s legal team, County Administrator Richard Starks said earlier this week.
On June 26, Monster announced its plans to invest $28 million and bring 750 jobs to Florence County over five years.
The ordinance, which also must pass a third and final reading, is similar to one the council passed unanimously last summer concerning QVC’s distribution of merchandise before 1:30 p.m. Sundays.
No one spoke during Thursday’s public hearing on the ordinance relating to Monster.
Council also passed second reading of an ordinance to establish a fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreement with General Electric Co., which plans to make equipment and process upgrades in Florence that could be worth more than $10 million, Starks said earlier this week.
Much of the hardware for GE Healthcare’s Signa MR750 3.0T magnetic resonance scanner, introduced in May, will be made in Florence, company spokesman Brian McKaig said.
The scanner includes imaging techniques allowing it to complete a routine liver exam in 15 minutes and a full breast exam in two sequences, according to a company press release.
GE will invest in its existing Radio Drive facility at least $2.5 million, the minimum required by state law to qualify for paying fees rather than regular taxes, Starks said earlier this week.
The ordinance relating to GE also must pass a third and final reading before going into effect.
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Reader Reactions
I say let’s do away with all of these stupid blue laws and allow a business to open or sell what it wants on Sunday. In a global market, the rest of the nation and world does not close on Sundays. If South Carolina wants to be successful, it’s going to have to change with the times, or hold onto tradition and continue to be at the bottom of education and economics
I feel that the businesses that want to be open on Sunday morning, this is paving the way for a class action suit against the county. You can not just exempt some businesses without showing cause for all business to be closed before 1:30 on Sunday. It does not matter if it is a small business or large business.
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