I have worked for a company for 12 years. For six of those years I have been the general Manager. I was just told this week that they are demoting me and taking 5% of my pay. Is it legal in SC for them to take my pay?

No state has a prohibition forbidding an employer from lowering wages. Unless you have a bona fide contract that says your pay can never be lowered, yes, it is legal.

Thankyou :(

SC law states that an employer of 5 or more employees must give a written notice of 7 days prior to the proposed decrease.

llr.state.sc.us
Click: Labor Programs at the top of page
Click: Wages/Child Labor link on left side of page
Click: Frequently Asked Questions hyperlink
The question/answer is the 6th one down.

It does not address the issue of a demotion, though!

The question was whether or not the pay can be lowered. The answer is, it can. What requirements there are before it can happen is a separate issue.

Also, this post is over a month old. Around here we asked that dormant posts be left alone unless you either have a question about the law being discussed or are the OP coming back with an update. It's not likely that the OP is still coming back looking for additional answers.

Thanks for understanding. :)