Jury duty: some people dread getting called, others welcome the chance to do their civic duty and experience a bit of change of pace from their regular workday. However, when your household employee gets called to jury duty, it can be a strain on your home, and you may need to adjust schedules in order to cover your employee’s absence. When it comes to payment, you might be wondering if they need to be paid while they are on jury duty. Here are the details you should know.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) states that employers do not need to pay employees for the time that they aren’t working, including when they are on jury duty. You aren’t required to provide jury duty pay unless your state law says you need to. Some states have developed jury duty compensation laws that are stricter than the federal, law, so if you do you have one of these laws, you are required to follow them. Depending on what state you live in, you may be required to pay your employee their regular rate while on leave, or just partial wages. If you don’t, you could end up paying a penalty fee or may be required to back payments to make up for the missing wages.
Above and beyond the letter of the law, there is the Golden Rule. Jury duty compensation is notoriously stingy, and many household employees will suffer financial hardship if they lose their regular pay. Do consider the relationship you have with this individual, and realize it was not their idea to win the jury duty lottery!
Here are the laws for jury duty compensation for each state. It is important to make sure you check with your state for accuracy and determine if there are additional jury duty leave laws that need to be applied.
|
STATE |
PAY FOR JURY DUTY? |
|
Alabama |
Yes - regular pay for full-time employees |
|
Alaska |
No |
|
Arizona |
No |
|
Arkansas |
No |
|
California |
No |
|
Colorado |
Yes, regular wages up to $50 per day for first three days of jury duty. Pay more if wanted. |
|
Connecticut |
Yes, regular wages for the first five days for full time employees. |
|
Delaware |
No |
|
District of Columbia |
Yes, regular pay for the first five days for full time employees, minus compensation for jury service. |
|
Florida |
No |
|
Georgia |
Yes, regular pay for full-time employees, minus compensation for jury service. |
|
Hawaii |
No |
|
Idaho |
No |
|
Illinois |
No |
|
Iowa |
No |
|
Kansas |
No |
|
Kentucky |
No |
|
Louisiana |
Yes, regular pay for one day. |
|
Maine |
No |
|
Maryland |
No |
|
Massachusetts |
Yes, regular wages for 3 days. |
|
Michigan |
No |
|
Minnesota |
No |
|
Mississippi |
No |
|
Missouri |
No |
|
Montana |
No |
|
Nebraska |
No |
|
Nevada |
No |
|
New Hampshire |
No |
|
New Jersey |
No |
|
New Mexico |
No |
|
New York |
Yes, for employers with more than 10 employees. Required to pay the first $40 of wages for the first 3 days. |
|
North Carolina |
No |
|
North Dakota |
No |
|
Ohio |
No |
|
Oklahoma |
No |
|
Oregon |
No |
|
Pennsylvania |
No |
|
Rhode Island |
No |
|
South Carolina |
No |
|
South Dakota |
No |
|
Tennessee |
Yes, regular wages minus compensation for jury service. Not required to pay temporary employees or those that have worked less than 6 months. Not required to pay wages if there are less than 5 employees. |
|
Texas |
No |
|
Utah |
No |
|
Vermont |
No |
|
Virginia |
No |
|
Washington |
No |
|
West Virginia |
No |
|
Wisconsin |
No |
|
Wyoming |
No |
This listing is believed to be complete as of date of publication; please research your state and locality rules independently.