New York law requires employers to allow employees time off from work to serve as jurors. Employers are prohibited from discharging or penalizing employees who provide prior notice of jury summons for absence from employment due to such jury service. It is an illegal penalty to force an employee to charge jury duty absence against vacation, personal or sick time. However, an employee may choose paid leave over losing wages.
Employers are encouraged but not required to pay an employee’s full daily wage while the employee is reporting to serve as a juror. Employers of more than 10 employees must pay jurors the jury fee of $40 or the employee’s wage (whichever is lower) each day for the first three days of jury service. If the juror’s daily wage is less than the jury fee, then the State makes up the difference. The State will pay the jury fee of jurors who work for employers of 10 or fewer employees if the jurors are not paid at least the jury fee by their employers. After three days, the State pays the jury fee to jurors who are not paid at least the jury fee. For jurors who are paid a daily wage that is less than the jury fee the State makes up the difference.
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Special Note: Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer cannot make deductions for absences of an exempt employee due to jury duty, serving as a witness or military leave. The employer may offset any amount received by an exempt employee as jury fees; witness fees or temporary military pay for a particular week against the salary due for that particular week.
For more information on compensation requirements for jury duty under the FLSA, please click here.
Please Note: The state laws summaries featured on this site are for general informational purposes only. In addition to state law, certain municipalities may enact legislation that imposes different requirements. State and local laws change frequently and, as such, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information featured in the State Laws section. For more detailed information regarding state or local laws, please contact your state labor department or the appropriate local government agency.