July 8, 2025 • 8 mins
An employee who is summoned for jury duty 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:
- [00:51] Jury duty defined
- [01:49] Time off requirements
- [02:18] Pay requirements
- [05:27] Scheduling requirements
- [06:45] Policy considerations
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Episode Transcript
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Jim (00:00):
An employee who is summoned for jury duty may have questions about
their pay, whether their job isprotected during their service, and
returning to work after their jury duty.
Employers should be preparedto answer such questions.
And in this podcast today, we'll discusssome of the key facts about jury duty.
Welcome to HRpreneur.
I'm Jim Duffy.
From Main Street to your street,the HRpreneur Podcast is
(00:22):
centered around helping small businesseslike yours gain the knowledge you
need from HR, payroll, and hiring totime taxes, benefits, and insurance.
Today we'll talk with our frequentguest, Meryl Gutterman, about jury duty.
As a reminder, Meryl works assenior counsel at ADP providing
guidance on employment laws.
Hello there, Meryl again.
As always, thank you again for joining us.
Meryl (00:44):
Hi, Jim.
Thank you for having me back again.
It's great to be here as always.
Jim (00:49):
So let's get started.
Many employees are summoned for jury dutyat some point during their employment,
but they often don't know what to do orhow to handle when a summons arrives.
So for starters, can you please share somethoughts about what jury duty actually is?
Meryl (01:07):
Sure,
absolutely.
So jury duty refers to a requirementthat US citizens become available
for jury pools for a certainperiod of time, from which they
could be selected to participateas a juror in a legal proceeding.
And employees really can't predict thestart dates or the duration of their
jury duty when they get summoned.
(01:28):
There are circumstances wherean individual or an employer
could request a postponement.
So employers have to make sure they'rechecking the laws in their state where the
employee was summoned for details aboutwhen they could request a postponement.
Once the employee issummoned for jury duty,
Jim (01:47):
a great place to start.
Thank you for that.
So when an employee receives a summonsand the service cannot be postponed,
must an employer provide time off?
Meryl (01:56):
So yes, federal and many state laws require that employers provide
time off for jury duty, and employersare prohibited from disciplining or
otherwise retaliating against employeeswho serve on a jury, and at the end of an
employee's jury service, employers have toreinstate that employee to their position.
Jim (02:17):
Thank you, Meryl.
Are employers also required to payemployees for their jury duty service?
Meryl (02:23):
Well, there are a number of states, the District of Columbia, and
some counties that require employersto pay employees serving jury duty.
And these payments in some cases canbe the difference between payments the
employee receives for serving as a jurorand their regular wages, and even in the
absence of a requirement to pay employees
(02:44):
during jury duty, many employers do optto pay their employees for their service.
The states that do requirepaid jury duty, there could be
variations in the pay requirements.
So for example, in Alabama, full-timeemployees are entitled to receive their
usual compensation from their employer.
During their jury duty, regardlessof their length of service, and
(03:06):
also the employee may not be askedto use their vacation or sick leave
for any time that they're spending,responding to a summons for jury duty,
participating in the jury selectionprocess, or actually serving on a jury.
In fact, they're around 17 statesthat explicitly prohibit an employer
from requiring employees to use theirpaid vacation or other personal leave
(03:28):
for their jury duty obligations.
Um, in Massachusetts, employees who workin the state are entitled to receive their
regular wages for any work missed forthe first three days of their service.
And then after that third day,the state may compensate jurors
at the rate of $50 per day.
If an employer is willing to continuepaying the employee for additional
(03:49):
days of service, they can requirethe employee turn over their state
compensation as a condition ofpaying them for the additional
jury duty.
And then in New York, employerswith more than 10 employees have
to pay employees serving as jurors
the jury fee of $40 or the employee'swage, whichever, is lower for each day
of the first three days of jury service.
(04:10):
And if a juror's daily wages isless than the jury fee, then the
state would make up the difference.
All to say the requirements vary by state,
so it's a really good ideato check the applicable law
that applies to your business.
Jim (04:26):
Meryl,
thanks.
That's great information.
For our listeners, uh, arethere any differences in pay 83,
requirements for exempt employees?
Meryl (04:33):
That's a great question, Jim.
So under the Fair Labor Standards Actor the FLSA, an employer has to pay an
employee who is exempt from overtime,their full salary for any week in
which the employee performs any work.
And there are a few exceptions, but if theexempt employee serves on a jury for less
(04:53):
than one full week, they would be entitledto their full salary for that week.
Assuming they worked any other timeduring that week, an employer may off
set any fees the employeereceives from the court for their
service, but pay is required.
Um, by contrast, exempt employeesdon't need to be paid for any work
week during which they perform no work.
(05:13):
So if they're on leave for jury duty forthe entire work week and they don't work
at all, then they typically wouldn'tneed to be paid for that work week.
Jim (05:24):
Also very useful information to know.
So Meryl, in addition to payrequirements, are there any restrictions
an employer needs to follow whenit comes to scheduling employees
before or after their service times?
Meryl (05:37):
There are Jim. So there are several states that
prohibit or restrict employers fromrequiring an employee who has served
jury duty to then work a shiftthe same day, or without a certain
amount of rest between shifts.
So for example, in Maryland, Marylandprohibits employers from requiring
an individual who appears for juryservice for four or more hours, and
(05:59):
that includes travel time to work anemployment shift that begins on or after
5:00 PM on the day of the individual'sappearance for jury service or
before 3:00 AM on the day followingthe individual's appearance for jury
Service. Your state may also prohibitemployers from scheduling employees to
work night shifts before their jury duty.
(06:20):
So for example, in Tennessee,if an employee is summoned for
jury duty and is working a nightshift, or is working during hours
proceeding those in which court isnormally held, then the employer has to
excuse the employee from work for thatshift that immediately proceeds the
employee's first day of jury duty service.
So again, make sure you're checkingthe law that applies to your business
(06:43):
to make sure that you're complying.
Jim (06:45):
Meryl.
Speaking of policies, are employersrequired to have a jury duty policy?
Meryl (06:49):
That's another great question, Jim.
While employers are generally notrequired to maintain a jury duty
policy, it is recommended to have one.
Employers should ensure thattheir jury duty leave policy is
applied fairly and consistently.
And having a policy can help setexpectations around what the jury
(07:09):
duty leave process will look like foran employee once they're summoned.
Jim (07:14):
As always, Meryl, this information is informative and timely.
Uh, and this brings us tothe end of our episode.
Again, thank you.
I've enjoyed having you on our showand as I often do, took a couple notes.
There are two things Iwanna recap, if I may.
States have variousrequirements surrounding pay and
scheduling for leave for jury.
So make sure to check your statelaw to manage your compliance.
(07:38):
And the second point is it may alsobe a good idea to create a jury duty
policy if you do not already have one.
Fair enough?
Meryl (07:45):
Fair enough.
You got that.
Thank you,
Jim.
Jim (07:48):
Presented by ADP HRpreneur focuses on the entrepreneurs and business
drivers who are shaping the growthof their companies and positively
impacting the lives of their employees.
With each episode, we'll bring theexperts to you, answer your questions,
and help you think beyond today so youcan discover more success tomorrow.
Thanks also to our listeners forjoining us for today's episode.
(08:10):
Be well, and we hopeyou'll join us again soon.
An employee who is summoned for jury duty may have questions about
their pay, whether their job isprotected during their service, and
returning to work after their jury duty.
Employers should be preparedto answer such questions.
And in this podcast today, we'll discusssome of the key facts about jury duty.
Welcome to HRpreneur.
I'm Jim Duffy.
From Main Street to your street,the HRpreneur Podcast is
(00:22):
centered around helping small businesseslike yours gain the knowledge you
need from HR, payroll, and hiring totime taxes, benefits, and insurance.
Today we'll talk with our frequentguest, Meryl Gutterman, about jury duty.
As a reminder, Meryl works assenior counsel at ADP providing
guidance on employment laws.
Hello there, Meryl again.
As always, thank you again for joining us.
Meryl (00:44):
Hi, Jim.
Thank you for having me back again.
It's great to be here as always.
Jim (00:49):
So let's get started.
Many employees are summoned for jury dutyat some point during their employment,
but they often don't know what to do orhow to handle when a summons arrives.
So for starters, can you please share somethoughts about what jury duty actually is?
Meryl (01:07):
Sure,
absolutely.
So jury duty refers to a requirementthat US citizens become available
for jury pools for a certainperiod of time, from which they
could be selected to participateas a juror in a legal proceeding.
And employees really can't predict thestart dates or the duration of their
jury duty when they get summoned.
(01:28):
There are circumstances wherean individual or an employer
could request a postponement.
So employers have to make sure they'rechecking the laws in their state where the
employee was summoned for details aboutwhen they could request a postponement.
Once the employee issummoned for jury duty,
Jim (01:47):
a great place to start.
Thank you for that.
So when an employee receives a summonsand the service cannot be postponed,
must an employer provide time off?
Meryl (01:56):
So yes, federal and many state laws require that employers provide
time off for jury duty, and employersare prohibited from disciplining or
otherwise retaliating against employeeswho serve on a jury, and at the end of an
employee's jury service, employers have toreinstate that employee to their position.
Jim (02:17):
Thank you, Meryl.
Are employers also required to payemployees for their jury duty service?
Meryl (02:23):
Well, there are a number of states, the District of Columbia, and
some counties that require employersto pay employees serving jury duty.
And these payments in some cases canbe the difference between payments the
employee receives for serving as a jurorand their regular wages, and even in the
absence of a requirement to pay employees
(02:44):
during jury duty, many employers do optto pay their employees for their service.
The states that do requirepaid jury duty, there could be
variations in the pay requirements.
So for example, in Alabama, full-timeemployees are entitled to receive their
usual compensation from their employer.
During their jury duty, regardlessof their length of service, and
(03:06):
also the employee may not be askedto use their vacation or sick leave
for any time that they're spending,responding to a summons for jury duty,
participating in the jury selectionprocess, or actually serving on a jury.
In fact, they're around 17 statesthat explicitly prohibit an employer
from requiring employees to use theirpaid vacation or other personal leave
(03:28):
for their jury duty obligations.
Um, in Massachusetts, employees who workin the state are entitled to receive their
regular wages for any work missed forthe first three days of their service.
And then after that third day,the state may compensate jurors
at the rate of $50 per day.
If an employer is willing to continuepaying the employee for additional
(03:49):
days of service, they can requirethe employee turn over their state
compensation as a condition ofpaying them for the additional
jury duty.
And then in New York, employerswith more than 10 employees have
to pay employees serving as jurors
the jury fee of $40 or the employee'swage, whichever, is lower for each day
of the first three days of jury service.
(04:10):
And if a juror's daily wages isless than the jury fee, then the
state would make up the difference.
All to say the requirements vary by state,
so it's a really good ideato check the applicable law
that applies to your business.
Jim (04:26):
Meryl,
thanks.
That's great information.
For our listeners, uh, arethere any differences in pay 83,
requirements for exempt employees?
Meryl (04:33):
That's a great question, Jim.
So under the Fair Labor Standards Actor the FLSA, an employer has to pay an
employee who is exempt from overtime,their full salary for any week in
which the employee performs any work.
And there are a few exceptions, but if theexempt employee serves on a jury for less
(04:53):
than one full week, they would be entitledto their full salary for that week.
Assuming they worked any other timeduring that week, an employer may off
set any fees the employeereceives from the court for their
service, but pay is required.
Um, by contrast, exempt employeesdon't need to be paid for any work
week during which they perform no work.
(05:13):
So if they're on leave for jury duty forthe entire work week and they don't work
at all, then they typically wouldn'tneed to be paid for that work week.
Jim (05:24):
Also very useful information to know.
So Meryl, in addition to payrequirements, are there any restrictions
an employer needs to follow whenit comes to scheduling employees
before or after their service times?
Meryl (05:37):
There are Jim. So there are several states that
prohibit or restrict employers fromrequiring an employee who has served
jury duty to then work a shiftthe same day, or without a certain
amount of rest between shifts.
So for example, in Maryland, Marylandprohibits employers from requiring
an individual who appears for juryservice for four or more hours, and
(05:59):
that includes travel time to work anemployment shift that begins on or after
5:00 PM on the day of the individual'sappearance for jury service or
before 3:00 AM on the day followingthe individual's appearance for jury
Service. Your state may also prohibitemployers from scheduling employees to
work night shifts before their jury duty.
(06:20):
So for example, in Tennessee,if an employee is summoned for
jury duty and is working a nightshift, or is working during hours
proceeding those in which court isnormally held, then the employer has to
excuse the employee from work for thatshift that immediately proceeds the
employee's first day of jury duty service.
So again, make sure you're checkingthe law that applies to your business
(06:43):
to make sure that you're complying.
Jim (06:45):
Meryl.
Speaking of policies, are employersrequired to have a jury duty policy?
Meryl (06:49):
That's another great question, Jim.
While employers are generally notrequired to maintain a jury duty
policy, it is recommended to have one.
Employers should ensure thattheir jury duty leave policy is
applied fairly and consistently.
And having a policy can help setexpectations around what the jury
(07:09):
duty leave process will look like foran employee once they're summoned.
Jim (07:14):
As always, Meryl, this information is informative and timely.
Uh, and this brings us tothe end of our episode.
Again, thank you.
I've enjoyed having you on our showand as I often do, took a couple notes.
There are two things Iwanna recap, if I may.
States have variousrequirements surrounding pay and
scheduling for leave for jury.
So make sure to check your statelaw to manage your compliance.
(07:38):
And the second point is it may alsobe a good idea to create a jury duty
policy if you do not already have one.
Fair enough?
Meryl (07:45):
Fair enough.
You got that.
Thank you,
Jim.
Jim (07:48):
Presented by ADP HRpreneur focuses on the entrepreneurs and business
drivers who are shaping the growthof their companies and positively
impacting the lives of their employees.
With each episode, we'll bring theexperts to you, answer your questions,
and help you think beyond today so youcan discover more success tomorrow.
Thanks also to our listeners forjoining us for today's episode.
(08:10):
Be well, and we hopeyou'll join us again soon.
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