Employees’ Rights for Jury Duty Leave by State

Jury service is one of the building blocks of our country’s justice system. It’s a democratic responsibility, as well as an occasional headache. Unfortunately, employers don’t always know what the law entails when it comes to jury leave. To help, we’ve prepared this guide detailing employees’ jury duty rights including relevant state-level legislation.

Your Responsibilities as an Employer Seem Clear

Federal law doesn’t require you to provide your employees leave for jury duty service nor does it provide for a specified period of leave, compensation or benefits. But the process can get complicated since some states and municipalities prohibit employers from docking pay or paid time off when an employee is serving on a jury.

Most states also prohibit employers from firing or penalizing an employee for jury service. And some require you to pay an employee for time not worked as a result of jury duty. Depending on your state, you may not be required to pay, but you might be required to allow an employee to take time off.

The Jury Duty Process

During the process, an employee who has received a jury summons will have to show up to court and will either be selected to serve on a jury or dismissed. If dismissed fairly early on the day of jury service, you should expect the employee to come to work for the rest of the day. In more complex cases, after the jury selection process, an employee could be serving on a jury trial for a case that goes on for months; a prospective juror can even be sequestered (required to stay in a hotel with no outside contact). Your jury duty policy should take all these factors into consideration.

Jury Duty Pay Laws by State

Most states have no laws on the books regarding jury duty pay and time off, but a handful do. Often HR will get questions from an employee who is a prospective juror, such as: Do I get paid for jury duty? How much do you get paid for jury duty? These questions are usually answered during the jury selection process but if you have operations in any of the states listed in the table below, it’s important to pay attention to these jury duty employee rights and have the right answers.

Eleven states and one territory require an employer to pay employees who are called to serve on jury duty. Fifteen states explicitly bar an employer from requiring employees to use paid vacation, sick, personal or other types of leave due to a summons.

Sample Jury Duty Policy for Companies that Offer Paid Time Off

[COMPANY NAME] supports employees who are summoned to serve on state or federal jury duty. [COMPANY NAME] provides paid time off for both full- and part-time employees who are called for jury duty to help ensure you’re not financially penalized for honoring your civic duty.

To receive pay when you’re called for jury duty, you must follow these guidelines:

• Notify your manager as soon as you receive a jury summons. Be prepared to provide a copy of the summons.
• Full-time exempt employees will be paid their regular rate of pay for [XX] days served.
• Part-time or hourly employees will be paid the difference between their regular pay rate and what they’re paid for serving.

If you work non-standard hours, please work with your manager to plan time off to ensure your schedule doesn’t land before or after jury duty.

Are you required to provide pay to your employees while they serve jury duty?

Federal law does not require you to pay your employees when they serve jury duty; however, some states do have that requirement.

What does California law say about paying employees who serve on jury duty?

California employers aren’t required to pay employees for lost wages due to jury duty; however, employees can use paid time off. Employers cannot dock the pay of an employee who serves on a jury unless the employee failed to give advance notice to the employer.

Will an employee be hurt financially due to jury duty?

If the employee is paid hourly, it’s possible. Federal jury duty pays $40 per day and states typically pay less. While parking is usually covered, travel time and meals are not. If the employee will experience a financial hardship, they can request a jury duty service exemption, but the decision is up to the court’s discretion.

Do I get paid for jury duty in California? If so, who pays?

Courts pay a daily stipend to employees who serve on a jury. Unless a company has a policy to pay for days missed due to jury duty, the employee will receive no additional compensation.

What happens if you don’t show up for jury duty?

Employees who don’t report for jury duty can be held in contempt of court and jailed or fined.

How Paycor Can Help

Paycor builds HR solutions for leaders. With Paycor, you can modernize every aspect of people management, from the way you recruit, onboard and develop your team, to the way you pay and retain them. See how Paycor can help the leaders of your organization solve the problems of today and tomorrow.