Nanny has jury duty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:37 days?! Plus vacation days? Im not sure i believe she has jury duty!!!

Either OP is a troll or she’s getting trolled by this nanny. I cannot get past 7.5 weeks of leave plus the federal holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s illegal to fire someone because they were placed on jury duty.

Does she have to pay her?

[Anonymous]

This is one of the major downsides of a nanny. We had one that took a ton of time off because she had an elective surgery and then had a family member with an illness. My parents happily covered but otherwise we would not have been able to do it. If you want a nanny and don’t have family to help, you really need to have a backup like White House Nannie’s in place.

But OP you are somewhat in luck because a LOT of college kids are home and bored over the next 2-3 weeks. If you ask around on your neighborhood listserve or with colleagues, it’s very likely you will find someone. My own college student did almost exactly tjis last fall before she went to school. Many of the colleges have almost all January off and if you pay nanny level wages they will be thrilled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s illegal to fire someone because they were placed on jury duty.

Does she have to pay her?

No. Which is why they’ll often let hourly workers off because they don’t get paid and can’t afford to be off work for weeks. This nanny clearly didn’t try to get out of it and assumed she’d just get paid.

[Anonymous]

Uh for context, our nanny asked for one day off each year in the last two years. We also gave her 6 weeks of vacation while we were on vacation. I would’ve fired or switched to daycare an additional 10 days. 37 is a lot if it’s not on your schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Out for illnesses and emergencies. How dare she?!?!

OP here. I don't blame her, things happen, but I'm just realizing that I don't think we're set up in a way to handle a lot of time off. She took 37 days off last year not including 13 paid holidays, and while I was able to cover them with my PTO/get last minute help, it was a struggle sometimes to get coverage. The more I think about it, the more I think it might make sense to transition to daycare instead. Regardless, that doesn't solve my immediate problem of jury duty.

37 days?! No. Get a new nanny

Agreed! She’s using you. Did you pay her for all of those days? I get 4 weeks PTO and if I’m out after that I’m unpaid. How sick is she, 3-5 days at a time? That’s nuts.

And why can’t you term her employment while on jury duty? Someone please explain the laws that pertain to a nanny agreement.

[Anonymous]

I would definitely get thorough documentation of her jury duty to make sure it’s actually real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s illegal to fire someone because they were placed on jury duty.

Does she have to pay her?

No. Employers don't typically pay people while serving on juries unless they have paid leave they can use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Out for illnesses and emergencies. How dare she?!?!

OP here. I don't blame her, things happen, but I'm just realizing that I don't think we're set up in a way to handle a lot of time off. She took 37 days off last year not including 13 paid holidays, and while I was able to cover them with my PTO/get last minute help, it was a struggle sometimes to get coverage. The more I think about it, the more I think it might make sense to transition to daycare instead. Regardless, that doesn't solve my immediate problem of jury duty.

That is absolutely insane. How many days off does she have in her contract? We have 4 kids very so ready apart in age so had Nannie’s for years. We gave them 2 weeks off (plus any extra time when we were not here didn’t count), federal days & 5 sick/personal days per year. Any sick days they didn’t use we just paid extra for them at the end of the year. I think in 15 years if Nannies, we had about 4 sick days total. You have a nanny problem.
Lots of our friends use White House nNnies for temp care. We had looked into it at one point and it’s easy to set up, even last minute. Do not switch to day care or you’ll have a ton of days w/ at least one sick kid at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Out for illnesses and emergencies. How dare she?!?!

OP here. I don't blame her, things happen, but I'm just realizing that I don't think we're set up in a way to handle a lot of time off. She took 37 days off last year not including 13 paid holidays, and while I was able to cover them with my PTO/get last minute help, it was a struggle sometimes to get coverage. The more I think about it, the more I think it might make sense to transition to daycare instead. Regardless, that doesn't solve my immediate problem of jury duty.

37 days?! No. Get a new nanny

Agreed! She’s using you. Did you pay her for all of those days? I get 4 weeks PTO and if I’m out after that I’m unpaid. How sick is she, 3-5 days at a time? That’s nuts.

And why can’t you term her employment while on jury duty? Someone please explain the laws that pertain to a nanny agreement.

I suspect OP did pay her for all those extra days which is why the nanny assumed she’d be paid for a multi week trial and didn’t ask for a hardship deferral. Usually they only get retirees and government workers for those multi week trials—anyone who is a hourly worker or self-employed will generally get a hardship waiver from a trial that long. Most jury service is only a few days.
Each state on our area has a specific law that protects you from being fired for serving on a jury. So OP could be sued if she fires the nanny for this. She should figure out another solution for this month and then after the nanny comes back start the process of finding a day care option.

But there’s also at least a 50% chance that this case will settle out and the nanny will be released early from service. I’m assuming this is a civil trial not a criminal trial but I guess it could be either.

[Anonymous]

I suspect the OP is either a troll or getting scammed.

But, supposing that it is real, they should just come to some agreement with the nanny with a month or so paid following the trial. I don't think the retaliation laws would apply in such a situation where the family is transitioning to daycare, as opposed to hiring a new nanny.

The penalties for the law aren't even that severe ($1,000 fine in MD), so it probably isn't worth worrying about too much. But you could obviously talk to the lawyer about the best way to handle it.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't surprise me if the best way legally might be the worst way for the nanny. Telling the nanny before or during the trial might be seen as coercion. So it wouldn't surprise me if a lawyer would tell you to arrange daycare now, but not tell the nanny until the trial is complete. And then terminate after the trial is over according to your contract, paying out whatever weeks are required at that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Out for illnesses and emergencies. How dare she?!?!

OP here. I don't blame her, things happen, but I'm just realizing that I don't think we're set up in a way to handle a lot of time off. She took 37 days off last year not including 13 paid holidays, and while I was able to cover them with my PTO/get last minute help, it was a struggle sometimes to get coverage. The more I think about it, the more I think it might make sense to transition to daycare instead. Regardless, that doesn't solve my immediate problem of jury duty.

37 days?! No. Get a new nanny

Agreed! She’s using you. Did you pay her for all of those days? I get 4 weeks PTO and if I’m out after that I’m unpaid. How sick is she, 3-5 days at a time? That’s nuts.

And why can’t you term her employment while on jury duty? Someone please explain the laws that pertain to a nanny agreement.

I suspect OP did pay her for all those extra days which is why the nanny assumed she’d be paid for a multi week trial and didn’t ask for a hardship deferral. Usually they only get retirees and government workers for those multi week trials—anyone who is a hourly worker or self-employed will generally get a hardship waiver from a trial that long. Most jury service is only a few days.
Each state on our area has a specific law that protects you from being fired for serving on a jury. So OP could be sued if she fires the nanny for this. She should figure out another solution for this month and then after the nanny comes back start the process of finding a day care option.

But there’s also at least a 50% chance that this case will settle out and the nanny will be released early from service. I’m assuming this is a civil trial not a criminal trial but I guess it could be either.

But even if OP doesn’t terminate the nanny’s employment (because illegal), she’s not required to pay her, correct? There is no work being done and no paid benefit contemplated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Out for illnesses and emergencies. How dare she?!?!

OP here. I don't blame her, things happen, but I'm just realizing that I don't think we're set up in a way to handle a lot of time off. She took 37 days off last year not including 13 paid holidays, and while I was able to cover them with my PTO/get last minute help, it was a struggle sometimes to get coverage. The more I think about it, the more I think it might make sense to transition to daycare instead. Regardless, that doesn't solve my immediate problem of jury duty.

37 days?! No. Get a new nanny

Agreed! She’s using you. Did you pay her for all of those days? I get 4 weeks PTO and if I’m out after that I’m unpaid. How sick is she, 3-5 days at a time? That’s nuts.

And why can’t you term her employment while on jury duty? Someone please explain the laws that pertain to a nanny agreement.

I suspect OP did pay her for all those extra days which is why the nanny assumed she’d be paid for a multi week trial and didn’t ask for a hardship deferral. Usually they only get retirees and government workers for those multi week trials—anyone who is a hourly worker or self-employed will generally get a hardship waiver from a trial that long. Most jury service is only a few days.
Each state on our area has a specific law that protects you from being fired for serving on a jury. So OP could be sued if she fires the nanny for this. She should figure out another solution for this month and then after the nanny comes back start the process of finding a day care option.

But there’s also at least a 50% chance that this case will settle out and the nanny will be released early from service. I’m assuming this is a civil trial not a criminal trial but I guess it could be either.

Given the extended time to find daycare placements, I wouldn't wait. But they might need to pay the nanny for a period of time while the child is going to daycare, depending on how much notice they need to provide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Out for illnesses and emergencies. How dare she?!?!

OP here. I don't blame her, things happen, but I'm just realizing that I don't think we're set up in a way to handle a lot of time off. She took 37 days off last year not including 13 paid holidays, and while I was able to cover them with my PTO/get last minute help, it was a struggle sometimes to get coverage. The more I think about it, the more I think it might make sense to transition to daycare instead. Regardless, that doesn't solve my immediate problem of jury duty.

37 days?! No. Get a new nanny

Agreed! She’s using you. Did you pay her for all of those days? I get 4 weeks PTO and if I’m out after that I’m unpaid. How sick is she, 3-5 days at a time? That’s nuts.

And why can’t you term her employment while on jury duty? Someone please explain the laws that pertain to a nanny agreement.

I suspect OP did pay her for all those extra days which is why the nanny assumed she’d be paid for a multi week trial and didn’t ask for a hardship deferral. Usually they only get retirees and government workers for those multi week trials—anyone who is a hourly worker or self-employed will generally get a hardship waiver from a trial that long. Most jury service is only a few days.
Each state on our area has a specific law that protects you from being fired for serving on a jury. So OP could be sued if she fires the nanny for this. She should figure out another solution for this month and then after the nanny comes back start the process of finding a day care option.

But there’s also at least a 50% chance that this case will settle out and the nanny will be released early from service. I’m assuming this is a civil trial not a criminal trial but I guess it could be either.

But even if OP doesn’t terminate the nanny’s employment (because illegal), she’s not required to pay her, correct? There is no work being done and no paid benefit contemplated.

Correct. Employers generally don't pay employees when they're serving on a jury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Out for illnesses and emergencies. How dare she?!?!

OP here. I don't blame her, things happen, but I'm just realizing that I don't think we're set up in a way to handle a lot of time off. She took 37 days off last year not including 13 paid holidays, and while I was able to cover them with my PTO/get last minute help, it was a struggle sometimes to get coverage. The more I think about it, the more I think it might make sense to transition to daycare instead. Regardless, that doesn't solve my immediate problem of jury duty.

37 days?! No. Get a new nanny

Agreed! She’s using you. Did you pay her for all of those days? I get 4 weeks PTO and if I’m out after that I’m unpaid. How sick is she, 3-5 days at a time? That’s nuts.

And why can’t you term her employment while on jury duty? Someone please explain the laws that pertain to a nanny agreement.

I suspect OP did pay her for all those extra days which is why the nanny assumed she’d be paid for a multi week trial and didn’t ask for a hardship deferral. Usually they only get retirees and government workers for those multi week trials—anyone who is a hourly worker or self-employed will generally get a hardship waiver from a trial that long. Most jury service is only a few days.
Each state on our area has a specific law that protects you from being fired for serving on a jury. So OP could be sued if she fires the nanny for this. She should figure out another solution for this month and then after the nanny comes back start the process of finding a day care option.

But there’s also at least a 50% chance that this case will settle out and the nanny will be released early from service. I’m assuming this is a civil trial not a criminal trial but I guess it could be either.

But even if OP doesn’t terminate the nanny’s employment (because illegal), she’s not required to pay her, correct? There is no work being done and no paid benefit contemplated.

Correct. Employers generally don't pay employees when they're serving on a jury.

Except in DC. There they need to pay regular wages for the first five days. Then nothing after that.