As a small business owner, you are likely aware of the importance of following employment laws to ensure the well-being of your employees and the smooth operation of your business. One such law that may impact your employees is jury duty leave. When an employee is summoned for jury duty, they may need to take time off work to fulfill their civic duty, which can create challenges for your business.
In this blog post, we will discuss questions to consider when creating a jury duty policy as well as several sample jury duty leave policies for you. Feel free to review these sample policies and customize them to suit the needs of your company. We’ll also provide practical tips and resources to help you navigate this process and support your employees during this time.
Questions to Consider When Creating Your Jury Duty Policy
If your company doesn’t have a jury duty leave policy, here are some things to consider before you create your policy:
- What proof, if any, will you require for jury duty leave – for instance, do you want to see a copy of their jury summons?
- Will jury duty leave be paid or unpaid? Remember… paid leave may be a requirement for your state.
- If jury duty leave will be paid, will the money your employees receive from the courts be deducted from their pay?
- Is there a time limit on the number of days an employee can be on jury duty leave and be paid for it?
- Are any employees at your company ineligible for paid leave for jury duty service?
Sample Jury Duty Leave Policy
Please use the following text to inspire your own jury duty leave policy:
“The Company encourages employees to fulfill their civic duties. To that end, employees will be allowed leave to serve on a jury, if summoned. We request that you bring in a copy of your summons notice as soon as you receive it, so that we may keep it on file. If you are called during a particularly busy period, we may ask you to request a postponement. The Company will provide additional documentation in this regard, if necessary, to obtain such postponement.
Jury duty can last from several days to several months or more. During this time you will be considered on a leave of absence and will be entitled to continue to participate in insurance and other benefits as if you were working. While serving on jury duty, you are expected to call in to your supervisor periodically to keep him or her apprised of your status.
The Company will compensate full-time employees for the difference between jury duty compensation and your current daily pay for the first five days you serve as a juror (or in accordance with applicable law, if different). If additional time is required, it will be granted, but without pay.
Advisory Note: Every state but Montana requires employers to allow employees to take jury duty leave without being terminated. Some states require paid leave. See your state’s jury duty leave law.”
Other Samples of Jury Duty Policies
Here are two other samples of jury duty leave policies that we found free of charge on the internet in case you want to mix and match any of these to customize your own policy.
“Employees summoned to serve court-commanded jury duty will be granted leave to do so and will be paid the difference between any compensation they receive for jury duty and their full salary. Upon return to work, proof of time served and proof of jury duty compensation should be submitted to the employee’s manager and to Payroll.”
From Employment Law Information Network – Sample Jury Duty Policy
“In the event you receive notice to report for jury duty, please notify your supervisor immediately so that arrangements can be made to have your duties covered until you return to work. If, however, this time is not convenient for the Company you may be provided with a letter to request that your jury duty be postponed.
While you serve as a juror, the Company will pay you the difference between your regular straight time earnings and your pay for up to 10 working days. The Company will pay your full regular straight time earnings and you will endorse over to the Company your jury pay check from the government. Time spent on jury duty will be counted as regular working time for all purposes except overtime. The employee must return to work for any reasonable time the court is closed during normal work hours.
No adverse employment action will be taken against employees or applicants due to their service as a juror in state or federal courts.”
