O’Dell honored by staffing association

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The South Carolina Staffing Association this week announced that Senator Billy O’Dell was honored as the 2011 Legislator of the Year for his work to obtain $146M in appropriations for state unemployment tax (SUTA) relief. Sen. O’Dell received the award at the SC Staffing Association’s Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony. The award was sponsored by Phillips Staffing.

“On behalf of our 200,000 employees and 800 South Carolina staffing companies, this was an opportunity to thank Senator O’Dell, who was one of the main legislators who carried the SUTA crisis torch for over 14 months and without whom this relief may not have come to fruition,” said SC Staffing Association President John Byrnes. “Sen. O’Dell worked tirelessly with other legislators and the Governor to first gain momentum for the relief and then sustain that momentum to gain vital relief that was needed for the businesses in South Carolina.”

2010 legislation to reform the state unemployment tax unfortunately resulted in tens of thousands of South Carolina businesses hit with unprecedented tax hikes – up to 600 percent increases, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars and up to millions in many cases to South Carolina businesses.

Recognizing the job killing scenario that this legislation would have caused, Senator O’Dell, the Governor and the South Carolina Legislature enacted tax relief in 2011 to ensure South Carolina businesses would continue growing and creating more jobs for South Carolinians.

“It is with the Governor’s and the Legislature’s actions, as well as Senator O’Dell’s leadership, that thousands of jobs were saved, scores more created, and millions of capital invested,” said Byrnes.