Employer Jury Duty Requirements: How Jury Duty Works

How does jury duty work?

All eligible Americans are obligated to serve jury duty when summoned. In fact, jury duty is often considered a person’s civic duty. Without juries composed of impartial and randomly chosen citizens, defendants in court cases can’t receive the speedy and fair trials outlined in the Sixth Amendment. Given this obligation, an employee’s jury duty summons legally takes precedence over their work obligations.

Joe Beachboard, an employment attorney with Beachboard Consulting Group, recognized employers might become frustrated with employees missing work for jury duty. “I think a lot of companies struggle with that issue, that every day that an employee is gone, I as the employer have to try to figure out how I’m going to get done whatever that employee was supposed to do,” Beachboard explained. “And I’m already dealing with employees who are on so many different types of leaves.”

However, Beachboard believes employers should encourage their workers to fulfill their jury duty requirements — and pay them if they can — because jury duty is a crucial civic function. 

“It can be an inconvenience for an employer if an employee takes that time off,” Beachboard conceded. “But what are the ramifications if they don’t? Who’s going to make these decisions, many of which are very important, especially to the people involved? It could be a life or death situation for the person on trial.”

Employers should be aware of the following when employees are called for jury duty:

• Avoiding jury duty can have legal consequences. If an employee receives a jury duty summons, they must appear at the designated courthouse on the specified date at the specified time. If your employee ignores their jury duty summons, they could be held in contempt of court and face fines or other penalties. As much of a hiccup as the employee’s absence may prove for your company, employee attendance should never come at the cost of legal troubles.
• Employees can sometimes postpone jury duty. Sometimes, employees can legally be excused from jury duty. Many courts allow jurors to request at least one postponement, though requests may be denied. Additionally, subsequent requests after an initial request are usually forbidden.
• Employees may be entirely exempt from jury duty (rare). Occasionally, certain summoned citizens can request exemption from serving on juries. Exemptions are rare and typically granted for significant medical, financial, caregiving or student obligations.
• Employees may be able to phone in. Many courts offer automated phone or online check-in systems that employees can use to learn whether they must report for service the next day. If they are not required to report in person, they are typically released from service unless instructed otherwise.

Beachboard emphasized that managers shouldn’t discourage employees from serving their jury duty. “Some [companies] have supervisors or managers that sort of encourage employees to get out of it if they can or reschedule it to a more convenient time,” Beachboard noted. “These are all messages, right? So, in my opinion, we have to have this culture of encouraging [jury duty participation] from top to bottom.”

Do you have to pay your employees for jury duty?

Whether you must pay your employees for jury duty depends on where your company is located. To help you determine your obligations, we’ve outlined federal and state laws as follows.

Federal jury duty laws

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal law enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), employers are not legally required to pay employees for nonwork hours. Since employees are theoretically not working while on jury duty, federal law does not mandate you pay your employees for jury duty.

However, many jury duty waiting rooms now offer Wi-Fi, primarily during the early stages of jury selection. If your employees operate under a remote work plan while waiting for jury selection, they must be compensated for the time worked.  

State and local jury duty laws

State laws governing jury duty pay supersede the FLSA. Most states don’t require employers to pay employees for jury duty, but nine states, the District of Columbia and two Florida counties mandate compensation. These states and jurisdictions include the following:

• Alabama: Companies based in Alabama must pay their full-time employees their usual wages for all hours they’d normally work during their jury duty.
• Colorado: Colorado businesses must pay employees their regular wages up to $50 per day for their first three days on jury duty. You can increase this $50 cap if you desire.
• Connecticut: Connecticut companies must pay full-time employees their total wages for their first five days of jury duty unless the chief court administrator excuses the employer from this requirement.
• District of Columbia: Companies with 11 or more employees must pay regular wages for employees to complete jury service for up to five days, minus any payment from the court.
• Broward County, Florida: Companies must pay regular wages for employees to complete jury service for up to five days, minus any payment from the court.
• Miami-Dade County, Florida: Companies with 10 or more employees must pay regular wages for employees to complete jury service for up to five days, minus any payment from the court.
• Georgia: Employees must be paid their regular salary to complete jury duty, minus any payment from the court.
• Louisiana: Louisiana companies must pay regular employees full wages for their first day of jury duty.
• Massachusetts: In Massachusetts, full-time, part-time, temporary and “casual” employees must receive full wages for their first three days of jury duty.
• Nebraska: All Nebraska employees must receive full wages for jury duty, minus any money the courts pay citizens for their service.
• New York: In New York, employers with over 10 employees must pay $40 in wages per day during an employee’s first three days on jury duty.
• Tennessee: In Tennessee, jury duty pay is required for non-temporary employees you’ve employed for over six months. Qualified employees must receive their full wages, less any money the courts pay for service. However, employers with four or fewer employees are exempt from Tennessee’s jury duty pay laws.

Options for supporting and encouraging jury duty

Businesses can support and encourage jury duty in the following ways: 

• Pay employees for jury duty. Although most states have no jury duty pay laws, many employers offer jury duty pay as a flexible benefit. Dan Kaplan, an employment lawyer and partner at law firm Foley & Lardner LLP, encourages business clients to offer jury duty pay capped at two or three weeks — as long as they provide proof of service. Kaplan also encourages business clients to add paid jury duty to their employee benefits package to entice talented job seekers. “I doubt many employers toot their own horn with, ‘Hey, by the way, we’re a firm believer in civic duty, and we pay for jury duty leave,'” Kaplan said. “But it’s something that you could use to separate yourself from other employers when you’re competing for labor.”
• Incorporate jury duty support into the company culture. Beachboard emphasized that including jury duty leave in the employee handbook and training managers to support participation can signal your company values civic duty. “You could just begin with a statement that, ‘We believe that serving on a jury is an extremely important role in our society, and we encourage our employees to embrace that,'” Beachboard suggested.
• Provide jury duty leave with flexibility and support. Perhaps most importantly, even if you’re not required to pay employees for jury duty, you still must grant employees as much time off as they need to fulfill their jury duty obligations. Employers cannot threaten, fire or penalize employees for their service. For example, California law protects employees who take time off for jury duty from discrimination or retaliation. Additionally, 18 states prohibit employers from requiring employees to use personal leave for jury duty. 

Tips for setting up a system for jury duty absences

Employee jury duty can significantly impact a business. However, a jury duty absence system can make this burden easier. Follow the below steps to implement your system:

• Know your state jury duty laws. In addition to the laws listed above, some states regulate the amount of work employers can require employees to perform outside of jury duty hours. Consult an employment attorney for more information.
• Reassure employees you won’t penalize them for their service. Employees worried about their jobs may neglect to tell you about their summons early enough for you to adequately plan for their absence. By guaranteeing your employees that jury duty won’t come at the cost of their job, you can circumvent this problem.
• Set deadlines for jury duty notification. In your employee handbook, specify how far in advance employees must inform you they’ve received a summons. You should also outline your plans for jury duty pay and covering absent employees’ responsibilities.
• Create your plan as soon as possible. Despite the stresses jury duty can cause a small business, your employees won’t be summoned often. While it may not seem urgent, take time to create a plan so you’re not caught off-guard when a key employee is summoned for jury duty during a critical week.
• Use time and attendance software. The best time and attendance software can make it easy to track employees’ jury duty-related absences. You’ll be able to plan around the missing employee and integrate any employee compensation changes into your payroll system.
• Make plans for your own jury duty absence. Business owners and other leadership team members can also be called for jury duty. Making a plan for your absence is crucial to ensure operations run smoothly and that nothing gets overlooked. 

Erin Donaghue and Jennifer Dublino contributed to this article.