Overview: Juries are critical to the functioning of the US legal system. In order to ensure jury participation, federal and state laws require that employers allow eligible employees to participate in jury service without the risk of termination, demotion or other unfavorable (adverse) employment action. Employees must be reinstated to their positions upon the conclusion of jury duty.
Generally, employers may ask employees to provide prompt notification of the need for leave and may request documentation of the need, such as a jury summons or a letter from the court clerk. The amount of time an employee spends on jury duty is not in the employer's control; rather, it varies based on the court proceeding. Employers should have a written policy that sets the parameters of an employee's absence for jury duty or court appearances (e.g., as a witness). The policy should be clearly communicated to all employees. Multistate employers may want to have a policy that follows the state law with the greatest benefit to employees.
Trends: On top of jury duty leave and witness leave, some states also provide for crime victim's leave and/or domestic violence leave. Generally, these laws require employers to provide employees with an unpaid leave of absence when the employee is the victim of a crime or domestic violence (or is a representative or family member of the victim), in order for the employee to participate in court proceedings related to the crime.
Author: Melissa S. Burdorf, JD, Legal Editor
Updated to reflect amendments expanding protections for jurors, effective September 1, 2019.
Updated statement and guidance to reflect expansion of jury service protections, including extension to grand jury service, effective September 1, 2019.
In-depth review of the spectrum of Nevada employment law requirements HR must follow with respect to jury duty leave.
Revised policy and guidance to further clarify an employee’s use of leave when serving as a juror.
Updated when to include, policy and guidance to reflect an employee's right to take unpaid time off to respond to a subpoena, effective June 6, 2016.
In-depth review of the spectrum of Rhode Island employment law requirements HR must follow with respect jury duty.
Enhanced to improve the comprehensiveness, organization and scope of coverage.
This letter may be used to request that an employee be excused from serving on a jury or to defer jury service based on an undue hardship or extreme inconvenience to the employer's business operations.
Nevada employers seeking to educate employees, including supervisors, about the availability of leave for service as a juror or witness and to demonstrate their compliance with Nevada's jury duty leave and witness duty laws should consider including this model policy statement in their handbook.
HR guidance on legal obligations regarding employees participating in jury duty.