Jury Duty

[Anonymous]

My nanny will have to report for jury duty in a few months. She has some vacation leave she could apply to cover the first week but cannot afford to work without her usual pay past one week. I will be hiring temporary help (at a higher rate than what I pay her) to cover her hours away. I know that household employers are not required to pay an employee while they are on jury duty. MBs and DBs who have had experience with this, what do you recommend as a fair way to handle this situation?

[Anonymous]

You don't know how long jury duty will last. She might not get chosen.

Are you legally required to pay her? No.
However, forcing her to use her vacation time, which is most likely limited to begin with, and then possibly forcing her to take unpaid leave is crummy.

Question: Does an employer have to pay an employee for jury duty service?

Answer: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal law, does not require employers to pay employees for jury duty service. Consequently, unless provided by state law or company policy, an employer does not have to pay an employee for serving on a jury. However, according to the Employee Benefits Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 87 percent of employers in the U.S. offered paid leave for jury duty.

While the majority of states do not mandate paying employees for jury duty, a few states do. In Connecticut, for instance, full-time workers are entitled to regular pay for the first 5 days of jury duty and after the fifth day, the employee can receive up to $50 per day from the state. Separate from employers, courts often pay jurors a modest amount each day for jury service.

http://employment.findlaw.com/wages-and-benefits/jury-duty-and-an-employee-s-right-to-pay.html

[Anonymous]

OP here. My state does not require that household employers pay for jury duty. I also would not force her to use her vacation pay if she didn't want to. She would have a job to return to whether jury duty lasted a few days or three months. My DH just had major surgery and we have many medical bills. We cannot afford to cover temp help and pay her her normal salary on top of that. I am asking other parent bosses what they have done in the past that they think is fair, not trying to mistreat my employee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My state does not require that household employers pay for jury duty. I also would not force her to use her vacation pay if she didn't want to. She would have a job to return to whether jury duty lasted a few days or three months. My DH just had major surgery and we have many medical bills. We cannot afford to cover temp help and pay her her normal salary on top of that. I am asking other parent bosses what they have done in the past that they think is fair, not trying to mistreat my employee.

*Meant pay, not salary.

[Anonymous]

Then nanny shouldn't sit for jury duty.

[Anonymous]

The nanny should tell them it would be a financial burden to serve and try to get out of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Then nanny shouldn't sit for jury duty.

Jury duty is a civic obligation, not something you can choose not to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then nanny shouldn't sit for jury duty.

Jury duty is a civic obligation, not something you can choose not to do.

+1. You must be able to prove financial hardship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then nanny shouldn't sit for jury duty.

Jury duty is a civic obligation, not something you can choose not to do.

You can get out of it easily. If you don't have a job that will allow you to go to jury duty then you can't go. Not everyone is entitled to everything.

[Anonymous]

We've paid when he had jury duty.

[Anonymous]

You could write down and notarize a document informing here that you (as a single-employee employer) are unable to pay her during her jury service and give it to her to take to jury duty wo that she can demonstrate that she will be missing pay. It might be enough to get her out of it or at least get her assigned to a short trial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could write down and notarize a document informing here that you (as a single-employee employer) are unable to pay her during her jury service and give it to her to take to jury duty wo that she can demonstrate that she will be missing pay. It might be enough to get her out of it or at least get her assigned to a short trial.

That's a fantastic idea!

Personally, I make sure jury duty is covered in my contract, but I want to cover as many possible issues as I can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could write down and notarize a document informing here that you (as a single-employee employer) are unable to pay her during her jury service and give it to her to take to jury duty wo that she can demonstrate that she will be missing pay. It might be enough to get her out of it or at least get her assigned to a short trial.

That's a fantastic idea!

Personally, I make sure jury duty is covered in my contract, but I want to cover as many possible issues as I can.

Why does it have to be notarized?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could write down and notarize a document informing here that you (as a single-employee employer) are unable to pay her during her jury service and give it to her to take to jury duty wo that she can demonstrate that she will be missing pay. It might be enough to get her out of it or at least get her assigned to a short trial.

That's a fantastic idea!

Personally, I make sure jury duty is covered in my contract, but I want to cover as many possible issues as I can.

Why does it have to be notarized?

So they know the person didn't write it themselves, pretending to be someone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then nanny shouldn't sit for jury duty.

Jury duty is a civic obligation, not something you can choose not to do.

You can get out of it easily. If you don't have a job that will allow you to go to jury duty then you can't go. Not everyone is entitled to everything.

[b]

Actually no you can't. I tried everything and still had to serve.