Message to Employers

Your employee has been summoned to jury duty in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. The employee will be “on call” for jury service for one month. Jurors normally serve from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If selected to serve on a trial, an average trial lasts three to five days.

In most instances, the burden of an employee’s federal court jury service can be absorbed by a business or other establishment with relative ease. In order to ensure that jurors are available when needed, Congress enacted the “Protection of Juror’s Employment Statute,” (Title 28, United States Code, Section 1875) in 1978. This statute outlines the duty of employers to their employees and to the justice system.

The statute states, in part, that “no employer shall discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate, or coerce any permanent employee by reason of such employee’s jury service, or the attendance or scheduled attendance in connection with such service, in any court of the United States.” It further provides that an employer who violates the provisions of the Act may be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation as to each employee, and the employer may be ordered to perform community service. The employer shall also be liable for damages, including any loss of wages or other benefits suffered by an employee.

If your employment policy prohibits paying an employee while he or she is on jury duty, you should reconsider that policy. Federal jurors are paid an attendance fee $50.00 per day; United States government employees do not receive an attendance fee. Paying the difference between your employee’s salary and the juror attendance fee is strongly encouraged when possible.