When you have to keep paying for jury service
Job protection is nearly universal. Pay is not. The FLSA does not require private employers to pay for time spent on a jury. Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Tennessee, and D.C. sit in the verified paid-jury core — details vary, and a few rows still need statute confirmation before you promise full wages.
New York employers with more than 10 employees generally may not withhold the first $72 of daily wages for the first three days of jury service (rate effective June 8, 2025). Colorado caps the first three days of required regular wages at $50/day unless you agree to more. Alabama requires usual compensation for full-time employees and bars forcing vacation or sick leave for jury response time.
What to do when a summons arrives
- Excuse the employee for service after they give notice of the summons.
- Check the employee’s work state against the paid-jury core before zeroing wages.
- Turn off automatic “court = PTO” deductions.
- For New York shops over 10 employees, apply the $72 floor for days 1–3.
- Keep attendance points off protected jury absences.
- Be careful docking exempt salary mid-week — freestyle docks create separate FLSA risk.
Where jury-week payroll goes wrong
- Paying only the court fee in a state that requires employer wages.
- Auto-burning vacation for jury days in Alabama-style no-forced-PTO states.
- Missing New York’s size threshold and the post-2025 $72 rate.
- Writing someone up for missing a shift after they produced a summons.
Protect the job first — then verify pay
Never retaliate for jury service. Then open the state rule before the first court day. Outside the paid-jury core, your policy or CBA usually decides wages — but the summons still is not a free no-call.