When an employee is summoned for jury duty, they may have questions about their pay, whether their job is protected during their service, and returning to work after their jury duty. Employers should be prepared to answer such questions. To help, here are some key facts about jury duty.
Jury duty is mandatory.
Jury duty is mandatory. However, under certain circumstances, an individual or an employer may request a postponement (e.g., if the employee's absence would pose a serious disruption to business operations). Check the laws in the state in which the employee was summoned for details about when a postponement can be requested.
Providing time off for jury duty is required.
Under federal and many state laws, providing time off for jury duty is required. Employers are prohibited from disciplining or otherwise retaliating against employees who serve on a jury. At the end of their jury service, employees must be reinstated to their position.
Pay during jury duty is required, in some states.
Some states require employers to pay employees for jury service, which in some cases, can be the difference between payments received for jury service and the employee's regular wages. Even in the absence of a state requirement to pay employees during jury duty, many employers choose to do so voluntarily.
Let’s look at how four states handle pay during jury duty.
Alabama
In Alabama, full-time employees are entitled to receive their usual compensation from their employer during jury duty, regardless of the length of the service. An employee may not be asked to use vacation or sick leave for time spent responding to a summons for jury duty, time spent participating in the jury selection process, or for time spent actually serving on a jury.
Massachusetts
Employees who work in Massachusetts are entitled to receive from their employer their regular wages for any work missed for the first three days of their service. After the third day, the state may compensate jurors at the rate of $50 per day. If the employer is willing to continue to pay the employee for additional days of service, they can require the employee to turn over their state compensation as a condition of paying them for the additional jury duty.
New York
In New York, employers of more than 10 employees must pay jurors the jury fee of $40 or the employee’s wage (whichever is lower) each day for the first three days of jury service. If the juror’s daily wage is less than the jury fee, then the state makes up the difference. The state will pay the jury fee of jurors who work for employers of 10 or fewer employees if the jurors are not paid at least the jury fee by their employers. After three days, the state pays the jury fee to jurors who are not paid at least the jury fee. For jurors who are paid a daily wage that is less than the jury fee, the state makes up the difference.
Nebraska
In Nebraska, the employer must maintain the employee’s regular pay for the duration of the jury duty. However, the employer may deduct the juror fee paid to the employee from the employee’s wages.
Exempt employees may be entitled to full salary.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must generally pay an employee who is exempt from overtime their full salary for any week in which the employee performs any work. If exempt employees serve on a jury for less than one full workweek, they would generally be entitled to their full salary for the week, assuming they worked at any other time during that same week. An employer may offset any fees the employee received from the court for their service.
By contrast, exempt employees don’t need to be paid for any workweek during which they perform no work. So, if they are on leave for jury duty for the entire workweek, and perform no work, they wouldn’t be entitled to their salary for that workweek.
Some states have restrictions on scheduling employees before/after service.
Several states prohibit or restrict employers from requiring an employee who has served jury duty to then work a shift the same day or without a certain amount of rest between. For example, Maryland prohibits employers from requiring an individual who appears for jury service for four or more hours, including traveling time, to work an employment shift that begins: (1) On or after 5 p.m. on the day of the individual's appearance for jury service; or (2) Before 3 a.m. on the day following the individual's appearance for jury service.
Your state may also prohibit employers from scheduling employees to work night shifts before their jury duty. For example, in Tennessee, if an employee summoned for jury duty is working a night shift or is working during hours preceding those in which court is normally held, the employee must be excused from work for the shift immediately preceding the employee's first day of jury duty service.
Make sure your policy complies with applicable state law.
Conclusion
Consider state laws and develop policies to help meet your jury duty compliance obligations.