Jury Duty Leave

Jury duty leave is time off work that lets an employee serve as a juror without losing their job. Almost every jurisdiction protects the employee’s job during jury service. Far fewer require the employer to keep paying them. Those two questions — am I protected? and am I paid? — have different answers, and confusing them is where most jury duty leave mistakes start.

Is jury duty leave paid?

Usually not by the employer, and usually a token amount by the court.

Courts pay jurors an attendance fee that rarely resembles a real wage. In the US federal courts, it is $50 a day, rising to $60 after 10 days of trial service (or 45 days for a grand juror). State courts range from a few dollars a day to New York’s $72. In the UK, jurors claim a loss-of-earnings allowance of up to £64.95 a day for the first 10 days, doubling after that.

Because those amounts don’t cover a mortgage, many employers pay full wages voluntarily even where no law requires it. That’s a policy decision, not a legal one — but once it’s in your handbook, it’s enforceable.

Jury duty leave in the United States

Job protection

The Jury Systems Improvement Act (28 U.S.C. § 1875) makes it illegal for an employer to discharge, threaten, intimidate, or coerce a permanent employee because of federal jury service. Remedies include reinstatement, lost wages, and civil penalties. Nearly every state has an equivalent protection covering state and county jury service.

What § 1875 does not do is require pay.

Where employers must pay

A minority of states require wage continuation:

Several states also prohibit employers from requiring an employee to use vacation or PTO for jury service. Check before you deduct.

The exempt-employee trap

This is the rule US employers most often miss. Under the FLSA salary-basis test, an exempt employee who performs any work during a workweek must receive their full weekly salary — even if they spent four of those five days in a jury box. Answering a single email from the courthouse hallway can trigger it. Employers may generally offset the juror fee the court paid, but they cannot prorate the salary.

Non-exempt employees, by contrast, are paid only for hours actually worked unless a state law or company policy says otherwise.

Jury duty leave outside the United States

United Kingdom. Employers must release employees for jury service but are not required to pay them. If the employer doesn’t pay, the juror claims the loss-of-earnings allowance directly from the court; the employer completes a certificate of loss of earnings. Dismissing someone for jury service is automatically unfair.

Canada. Jury service is a civic obligation, and every province and territory protects jurors from dismissal or penalty. Most — including Ontario and British Columbia — require unpaid leave only. In Quebec, protection sits in the Act Respecting Labour Standards; the employer need not pay, but the government compensates jurors.

Australia. Under the National Employment Standards, jury duty falls within community service leave. All employees, including casuals, may take the leave. Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to make-up pay for the first 10 days: the employer tops up the court’s payment to the employee’s base rate for ordinary hours. Casual employees have no NES payment entitlement, though awards, agreements, or state law may create one. Employers can ask for proof of court attendance.

What a jury duty leave policy should cover

• Notice. When the employee must tell you (typically as soon as the summons arrives) and who to tell.
• Documentation. Summons up front, certificate of attendance afterward. Keep both.
• Pay. Paid or unpaid, for how many days, whether court fees are offset, and how exempt employees are handled.
• PTO. State plainly that jury duty is not deducted from PTO — or, where lawful and intended, that it is.
• Partial days. Whether an employee released at 11 a.m. is expected back at their desk.
• Extended trials. What happens after the paid period ends on a six-week trial.
• Benefits. Confirm that seniority, accruals, and insurance continue uninterrupted.

Common compliance mistakes

Applying one country’s rule across a multi-country workforce. Prorating an exempt employee’s salary. Recording jury duty against the PTO balance in a state that forbids it. Losing the summons and the attendance certificate, then having nothing to show in an audit. Treating a two-week trial as an unexplained absence in the attendance record.

Frequently asked questions

Can you be fired for jury duty? No. Federal law protects jurors in federal cases, state law covers state cases, and comparable protections exist in the UK, Canada, and Australia.

Does jury duty count as PTO? It shouldn’t. Jury duty is a distinct, legally protected leave type, and several US states specifically bar employers from charging it to PTO.

How long does jury duty last? Most jurors serve one day or one trial — often under a week. Complex trials can run months, which is why policies need a rule for what happens after the paid period ends.

Do we have to pay for jury duty? Depends entirely on jurisdiction and employee classification. See the table above, and treat exempt employees separately.

This entry is general information, not legal advice. Jury duty rules change — verify against current law in each jurisdiction where you employ people.