Do you get paid when you are on jury duty?

[disneysteve]

A conversation came up at another site and one of the guys just got chosen for a jury that is expected to last for 5 weeks. His job pays him but it made me wonder how common that is. Personally, if I don't work, I don't get paid. I would assume that is true for pretty much anybody who is self-employed or works for any type of smaller business. I would think only government employees and employees of large corporations are likely to get paid for missing days or weeks of work to serve on a jury.

So what about you? Does your salary continue if you get stuck on a jury?

[DaveInPgh]

I work for a major corporation and salaried employees still get paid. Hourly workers do not.

[Thrif-t]

Nope. I'd have to use PTO time.

Where I used to work they would, but they would deduct whatever pay you got for jury duty from your regular pay.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I'm in the public sector and yes my employer pays regular wages for jury duty. Of course I would have to forfeit the jury pay which is about $20 per day, which I would gladly give up for my regular pay. However when I was doing plumbing the jury pay would have been my only compensation. In plumbing the motto was no work, no pay. In plumbing if I called in sick, I would not get paid either. There was no sick time, again no work, no pay.

[sv2007]

It is very common to get paid in the tech sector (in fact, I don't know any company that doesn't), whether small or large companies. But a lot of times people will still complete projects and hand in results at status meetings despite jury duty (only the old and lazy don't).

[MonkeyMama]

No, no pay for jury duty. Small business.

My county is really lenient about it. All my co-workers live in different counties and seems like they have a lot more trouble with it. I don't even have to go in to jury duty, since I wouldn't get paid. (They will send a summons, but I've always had an automatic excuse with this job).

[DaveInPgh]

It is very common to get paid in the tech sector (in fact, I don't know any company that doesn't), whether small or large companies. But a lot of times people will still complete projects and hand in results at status meetings despite jury duty (only the old and lazy don't).

You must have one heck of a network within the tech sector to be able to offer up such generalizations.

[rob62521]

When I was on jury duty my school district paid me, but I had to give the jury duty money to the district and it was about $10 a day back then.

[bjl584]

yes. my employer gives us up to 5 days paid for jury duty.

[disneysteve]

yes. my employer gives us up to 5 days paid for jury duty.

So my friend who was recently chosen for the jury in a 5-week trial would get paid for 5 days and be out of luck for the other 4 weeks? I doubt that many people can afford to do that.

[clatoden99]

I imagine there could be different procedures in different places, but I've been called twice for jury duty (in two different states) and each time the county just mailed me a check afterward. It's not like they don't know who you are or whether you showed up for duty; there are records of the array and attendance.

[disneysteve]

I imagine there could be different procedures in different places, but I've been called twice for jury duty (in two different states) and each time the county just mailed me a check afterward.

That wasn't my question. I was asking if your job pays you while you are out from work to serve jury duty.

Of course, you raise another good point. The token payment of a few dollars a day they give you for jury duty usually isn't enough to cover the cost of lunch and parking, so not only do many people lose income when the go to jury duty, it also costs them extra money to get there. It's really a pretty lousy system.

[sv2007]

No, no pay for jury duty. Small business.

My county is really lenient about it. All my co-workers live in different counties and seems like they have a lot more trouble with it. I don't even have to go in to jury duty, since I wouldn't get paid. (They will send a summons, but I've always had an automatic excuse with this job).

Wow, that's some nice, understanding courts there.

Ours sucks; I always have an excuse for not able to go, but (I think) causes me to receive even more duty requests (I think ours purposely re-picks the same people who declined). The one time that I decided to go, I get a notice a day or so before the duty date saying it's canceled (no longer required).

[sv2007]

You must have one heck of a network within the tech sector to be able to offer up such generalizations.

Like I said, I'd be very surprised if a tech company doesn't pay. How many have you worked for or know people there? Which one doesn't pay? This above is for exampt employees only.

The key is to remain productive and support the team during jury duty. As a manager, I'd expect that of my reports; and as an individual contributor I expect that of myself. Of all my experience, I've only met 1 guy who took his jury duty time without producing results; he wasn't a high performer.

[FLA]

my job paid for jury duty but IDK for how long. We had to forfeit the $14 a day of jury duty pay. Between parking and lunch, I understand why people don't want to do it. If I didn't get paid, I would say that when asked if there is a reason I couldn't serve. Other people said that and they were dismissed.

I wanted to serve on a jury but I never got picked. My lawyer friends said they never pick nurses. They're a wild card, they said.