Pro Bono Champion: Grant Close - Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County

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Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County (Habitat Greenville) is the Greenville County, SC affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Habitat Greenville improves the financial health of hard-working people by helping them to purchase a home when they would not otherwise qualify for traditional loans. Habitat knows that home ownership significantly improves a family’s outcomes. It changes their financial well-being through home equity and freeing dollars from expensive rents. And, it helps break the cycle of generational poverty and improves the academic success of children. Habitat carefully selects its hard-working home owners, gives them financial education, and requires their dedication to home ownership through “sweat equity” (assisting with building others’ homes) before they can get their own home. Habitat helps families build stability, strength, and self-reliance, and brings families, community partners and volunteers together to fulfill this mission. 

Grant Close started doing employment law work for Habitat Greenville in 2016 through a prior pro bono program. Habitat Greenville was facing the major impact of significant proposed changes to the overtime exemption requirements at that time. Since then, he has counseled Habitat Greenville on employment law issues on a pro bono basis to help it dedicate as many of its resources as possible to fulfilling its important mission. Grant has assisted Habitat Greenville with a myriad of employment law issues from day-to-day matters to strategic direction related to its employees. "I am grateful to Nexsen Pruet and its pro bono program which allowed me to continue assisting Habitat Greenville after I joined Nexsen Pruet. Habitat Greenville showed its appreciation by presenting me with the Strong Foundations Award in February 2020, which recognized our legal work as a foundational strength to Habitat’s critical mission."

Grant Close is a Member in Nexsen Pruet’s Greenville, South Carolina office, where he practices employment and labor law. Grant provides advice and counsel to help employers navigate employment and labor laws. Grant is experienced in defending employers before federal and state courts in wage and hour matters, non-compete agreements, leave laws, employee contracts and discrimination and harassment lawsuits. Grant has represented companies in class and collective actions claiming unpaid overtime. Grant advises employers on compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and other workplace laws.

Nexsen Pruet, LLC is one of the largest law firms in the Carolinas, with more than 190 attorneys and offices in Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as well as Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1945, Nexsen Pruet provides a broad range of legal services to the business community and represents companies and other entities in local, state, national and international venues.