Employee Policies on Jury Duty

Jury duty is an often-inescapable requirement that forces employees to miss days at work. Since the government may select employees to serve on jury duty, companies must have policies in place to accommodate employee absenteeism.

Function

Companies create jury duty policies to inform employees of their rights with respect to serving jury duty during regularly scheduled work hours. The policy should explain how far in advance the employee must inform his employer of jury duty service, which documents must be furnished for proof and what forms must be filled out prior to jury duty, if any exist. Sometimes companies require employees to check a box for jury duty on their timesheets.

Features

Policies should include information about how jury duty may affect the employee's salary or hourly wage. If a company elects to deduct jury duty days from an employee's vacation hours or medical leave benefits, the policy must also outline this information. Some employers pay employees their normal wages during jury duty service.

Considerations

Jury duty employee policies should describe what happens when employees are paid to serve on a jury. If the government pays employees to be a juror, their employers may not find it appropriate to pay them for time away from work. According to HRVillage, an employee may need to turn in jury compensation from the government to the payroll department.

References

• HR Village: Employee Handbook - Policies and Procedures

Resources

• Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts: Jury Service