Do Employers Have to Pay for Jury Duty? - The Full Guide

There comes a time in every citizen's life when they are going to have to do their duty and work for the state. Many of you probably read that sentence and wondered what kind of bizarre law or duty we are talking about.

Don’t worry, these are all duties you know and have accepted at some point. In some countries, this means conscription into the military for a period of time, in others it simply means voting. However, the one we are going to talk about today is jury duty. At some point, a regular citizen may be called upon by the state to act as a neutral and impartial council that dictates the guilt of another person of a specific criminal charge.

This is an incredibly necessary and important part of our democracy and helps facilitate fair judgment. However, there is one aspect that is not talked about: pay. See, people can’t just drop everything and help out the state for a few weeks. They have lives that have expenses to pay for and so have to work. With that in mind, jury duty has payments, but who makes them? Do employers pay for jury duty?

In this article, we seek to find this out.

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What Is Jury Duty?

Jury duty is the duty to be conscripted into service by the state for a period of time in one’s community as a juror. A juror is a person that is required to attend a trial as a part of an impartial group known as a jury. This group is one made up of 12 people who pass judgment during criminal trials and are expected to serve for a period of time.

For example, a prospective juror must attend a jury summons and serve for at least three consecutive days as a juror within the US. The duty to serve jury duty is held by all citizens of particular countries, including the United States. In some states, a person is only required to serve if they receive a jury summons, while in other states, it is a duty that anyone who is 18 years or older is held.

The role of the jury is considered incredibly important to maintaining a fair democracy. Without the impartiality that a jury offers, it is not truly the will of the people that can decide whether a person has committed a crime and what their sentence should be.

Instead, it would be down to the state, the police, the judges, or the military, all of which can be corrupted and taken advantage of without the people’s input.

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Why Is Jury Duty Important?

The American legal system is based around the concept of “innocent until proven guilty.” In other words, only once a person is charged with a crime and in the courtroom can they be proven guilty, and only if they are found guilty.

In order to get to this point, we need a system that allows us to charge people with crimes, make sure they are in the courtroom, and ensure they are guilty through due process with a minimized potential for corruption and greed to influence the decision.

Having a jury of randomly selected adults allows jury-based courts to be one of these processes. Jury duty is an integral part of this process. Every day, our legal system relies on citizens to serve as jurors for the benefit of not just everyone involved in the trial, but any member of the public in general.

A jury is the panel of citizens who hear evidence and determine whether or not someone is guilty of a crime, while being completely unconnected to the case, the victim, the accused, the process of finding evidence, and the investigators. As such, they can give their honest opinion on who they think is guilty without undue influence.

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Do Employers Have to Pay for Jury Duty?

No. Jury duty is a civic duty and not a job. This means that employers have no obligation to pay their employees for it. This comes from the Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938, as it was believed that the employers would suffer greatly should they be forced to front the cost of a trial that could take years to complete.

However, it is also recognized as unfair to the employee if they are forced into jury duty, as they will not seemingly receive pay for their service. This is why judges will allow jury members to state why they cannot serve on a jury at a time and if that excuse is sufficient, such as not being paid or having an incredibly important job (trauma doctor for example), they will let them renay on their jury duty.  

Many states thought the same thing and have implemented many laws that require payment to be made to an employee on jury duty. As such, just because the federal government is willing to let employers off, it doesn’t mean that state governments are.

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State Laws Around Jury Duty

The laws around jury duty are going to vary from state to state. Some states don’t require employers to pay for jury duty, while in others, it is voluntary. However, as a general rule, a person is not expected to work for the state if they have a sufficient reason not to, as mentioned above.

Currently, there are only 8 states in America that require employers to pay their employees while on jury duty: Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, and Tennessee. However, these payments can vary quite wildly, for example, Alabama requires employees to receive their regular pay for the duration of the trial, while New York only requires employers to pay for the first 3 days at a maximum of $40.

Lots of large municipalities around the country do require payments to employees serving their civic duty as well, such as Miami-Dade and the District of Columbia, but barring these there are few places that require employers to pay their employees.

Pay Your Employee When They Have Jury Duty

You should pay your employee on jury duty. This isn’t just an ethics statement in that it is the right thing to do, it is also for the sake of your business. Let us explain.

See, jury duty is a great honor and important part of our democracy, which your employees will undoubtedly think as well. If you don’t pay them for doing their duty, you will look bad. It will look worse to the other employees, for it seems you are punishing them for doing the right thing.

It will also make your other employees question whether they want to work for someone who appears not too loyal to their workforce, considering you won’t pay them for doing their duty, something which they have no control over. This may cause problems with employee retention and hiring in the long run.

Large businesses can get away with having foul reputations because of how many resources they have – it is unfortunate, but that is the way the world is. A small or even fairly large business cannot. As soon as their reputation is ruined, they often don’t last long themselves. So, it would be wise to pay your employees for jury duty.

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Conclusion

Employers aren’t required to pay employees for jury duty, but they should really pay them. It will not only make you look good, but will keep your employees loyal and make it look to the state like you are willing to let people do their civic duty. The alternative is far worse.
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