L. Grant Close, III

Grant Close is a Shareholder in our Greenville, South Carolina office, where he helps employers navigate employment and labor laws. Grant is experienced in defending employers against federal and state court lawsuits involving wage and hour matters, non-compete agreements, leave laws, employment contracts, and discrimination and harassment lawsuits. Grant has represented companies in class and collective actions claiming unpaid overtime wages.  

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), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and other workplace laws.

Grant has experience in various industries, including higher education, construction, health care, home health, retail, special purpose districts, and non-profit.

Grant also advises clients on Form I-9 and E-Verify compliance and audits by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

Grant also represents clients in audits and investigations by other government agencies including the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), South Carolina Human Affairs Commission (SCHAC) and the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR).

Before joining the firm, Grant was a Partner with a national labor and employment law firm's Spartanburg, South Carolina office, where he practiced for more than a decade.

Grant received his Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Wofford College before receiving his J.D. from the Charleston School of Law

Community & Professional

• South Carolina Bar Association
  • Young Lawyers Division, Circuit Representative
• American Bar Association
• Blue Key National Honor Society
• Spartanburg Methodist College Board of Trustees, 2023 

Speaking Engagements

12.01.2021
Maynard Nexsen Employment Law Certificate Series: The Biden Administration: Recap of the First Year

12.10.2020
South Carolina Association of CPAs: Employment Law Issue Spotting for CPAs

06.09.2020
South Carolina Association of CPAs Spring Splash: Employment & Labor Law in the Year of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Outside Maynard Nexsen

Grant is an active leader in his community. He has served on the board of Mobile Meals of Spartanburg and currently serves on the board of Fifty Upstate, a non-profit serving and promoting the health of Spartanburg County’s over 50 population.

Grant has served his church in numerous capacities, is a Cub Scouts leader, and coaches youth sports.

He has also served as Circuit Representative to the South Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and is a graduate of Leadership Spartanburg.

• “Strong Foundations Award” by Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County, 2020

• "South Carolina Rising Stars" by Super Lawyers magazine, 2014-2021
• Graduate of Leadership Spartanburg
• Listed in Best Lawyers in America for Litigation - Labor and Employment (2023-present) and Employment Law (2024)
• Recognized by TALK Greenville Magazine, Top Lawyers, 2023

• "Marijuana in the Workplace," Maynard Nexsen's Employment Law Briefing - Greenville, October 31, 2019