Jury Duty, Court Subpoenas, and Voting

Generally, the law says employees must be excused from work when called to serve on a jury. In most cases, the court will provide nominal compensation when individuals serve. You aren’t generally required to pay non-exempt employees when they serve on a jury. Typically, employers choose to make up the difference between jury duty pay and an employee’s normal wages. Consult with a local attorney to determine how compensation should be handled for employees serving on a jury.

The law may require employees to be excused when subpoenaed. However, you should have a policy in place that addresses how your organization will treat this situation.

Another policy you may need to consider is a voting leave policy. State law governs voting leave. While some states may not mandate time off for voting, other states specify the amount of time an employee may take, as well as whether the employee must be compensated for the time off. Consult with a local attorney to determine whether voting leave is required by your state.

SAMPLE POLICY:
JURY DUTY

Serving on a jury or testifying as a witness when called is a civic duty that this organization fully recognizes and supports. The following policy governs how this organization will handle employees serving on jury duty or testifying as a witness.

It is the employee’s responsibility to notify (name of organization) as soon as a formal notice regarding jury duty is received. This will allow the employee’s supervisor to make arrangements for coverage during this time period. While serving on jury duty, employees will be paid the difference between jury duty pay and their regular pay.

It is expected that employees scheduled to work while serving on jury duty should return to work if off for the day from jury duty or excused early from jury duty.

SAMPLE POLICY:
COURT SUBPOENA

Employees who receive a subpoena should notify their supervisor in advance of their need to appear in court on the scheduled date. Court appearances under subpoena or out of civic duty (such as testifying as a witness) will normally be considered excused time with pay. Time to appear in court for personal business will be the individual employee’s responsibility. Normally, a benefit such as vacation days will be used for this purpose.

SAMPLE POLICY:
VOTING

All employees should be able to vote either before or after their regularly assigned work hours. If this isn’t possible, employees may take off for a reasonable period of time (up to two hours) to vote at the beginning or end of the workday, without loss of pay. To qualify for this time off, employees must notify their supervisor at least two business days in advance of their desired voting day to allow for arrangements to be made for coverage during this time period.

This is a sample handbook policy only. Your organization is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. Accordingly, this document should not be used or adopted by your organization without first being reviewed and approved by a licensed attorney in your area. Brotherhood Mutual assumes no liability in preparation and distribution of this sample document.

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