Human Resource Blog

Asking Our Employees to Request a Postponement of Jury Duty

	Attendance Management
Vacation Request / Response Form Weekly Time Sheets Attendance Calendar for 2008, 2009, or 2010 Annual Attendance Tracker Vacation Request Form for 2008, 2009, 2010 (Calendar) Detailed Absence Report

	Benefits
Total Compensation Summary Performance Improvement Plan Performance Appraisal and Review Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Employee Change Form

	Compensation
Employee Payroll Action Form W-4 Employee Withholding Allowance Cert. Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Direct Deposit Form Total Compensation Summary

	HR Management
Confidential Employee Folder Confidential Employee Medical Folder Job File Worksheet Folder Daily EEO Applicant Flow Log Workplace Information Sheets Request to Inspect Personnel Files

Our company just got a huge new client. At the same time, our creative director that had been slated to work on the project has been called away for jury duty. I know that we are limited as far as what we can do to get that employee to stay at work, but can we force our employee to ask for a postponement of jury duty until we get this project suitably off the ground?

If your company can demonstrate that it is in a situation of extreme hardship, then it is possible that your creative director can obtain a postponement of jury duty. However, your employee will likely not be released from jury duty simply because it is inconvenient for your company at this time. According to the Jury Systems Improvement Act (JSIA), you cannot force your employee to apply for exemption from jury duty, again, unless your company can prove to the courts that the absence of the creative director truly will harm the company.

Remember, according to the JSIA, if you terminate or discipline your creative director in any way, you can get into trouble for your behavior. Accordingly, you can be fined up to $1,000 per offense per employee, be forced to pay for back wages and benefits, and also have to pay any legal fees that your employees have compiled while trying to fight his or her termination or punishment. You might also have to reinstate the employee and give him or her a position with the same level of seniority.

Here are some things that you need to keep in mind if one of your employees is called away for jury duty:

Make sure that your employees are aware that they are still employees of the company, even while they are called away. As such, make sure they know that they need to give you as much notice as possible regarding the days that they will be in court. Also, they should know that they will be expected to come to work when they are not at court. So, for example, if you have an employee that serves jury duty in the morning, that employee should report to the office in the afternoon.

Be patient with your employees. Jury duty is not a vacation or a sick day; it is an obligation that all U.S. citizens need to be prepared to take on when they live in this country.

Simply because your employees are called to jury duty does not necessarily mean that they will have to serve. Therefore, it can be difficult for you to plan for the absence of an employee well in advance. In your situation, you may want to simply inform your new client of the potential that your creative director will need to be away to serve jury duty and that you may need to extend your project deadline, if possible.