All employers must provide leave for federal jury duty. Employers are not required to provide paid leave for federal jury duty, but they may do so. However, employers are required to continue to pay exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (i.e., those who are not eligible for overtime pay), if an employee works some part of a week during which they serve as a juror. While an employer cannot make deductions from pay for absences of an exempt employee for federal jury duty leave, an employer may: 

• Offset any jury duty fees paid by the court against the salary due for that particular week without loss of the exemption.
• Not pay an exempt employee’s salary for any workweek the employee does not work because of jury duty leave.

Depending on the jurisdiction, state law may require paid jury duty leave. For information on state jury duty leave, find your respective state’s Jury Duty and Court Leave law page on the platform.

Employers are prohibited from discharging, threatening to discharge, intimidating, or coercing any permanent employee because they served or will serve on a federal jury. Employees are entitled to participate in insurance and other employment benefits while on jury duty leave. Upon their return to work, employees must be reinstated to their prior position without loss of seniority. Employers must treat employees reinstated to employment after serving on a federal jury as having been on a leave of absence or furlough during jury duty leave.

Whether an employee has a right to job-protected leave to serve on a nonfederal jury is addressed by state-specific law (see the Jury Duty and Court Leave pages).

28 U.S.C. § 1875; 29 C.F.R. § 541.602