What is your responsibility when an employee is summoned for jury duty? Under both federal law and Florida state law, an employee cannot be fired, threatened with termination or otherwise retaliated against based on their service on a jury, or the length of such service. Violate these laws and your company – and individual managers as well – could be held in contempt of court and fined. Additionally, the aggrieved employee can sue the company to recover lost wages, other compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
Although you are not required to pay employees during jury service, if you do choose to pay employees you must notify them of any limitations on pay before jury service begins.
The best practice is to have a clear provision in your employee handbook stating your policy on whether jury duty is paid or unpaid leave, and explaining any limitations. (For example, some policies provide for paid leave for a specified number of days, and unpaid leave thereafter.) Require employees to notify the company when they are summoned, and provide updates as to the anticipated length of service. Under certain circumstances, an employee can be excused from jury duty if their absence would cause a hardship to the employer or the employee.
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