The following procedure must be followed when you receive a summons for jury duty:
- Upon receipt of a jury duty summons, it is your responsibility to present the original summons to the Human Resources Office as soon as possible. H.R. will copy and return the original summons to you. The copy will be date stamped and shall be the basis for determining the order of granting jury duty leaves with regular pay.
Note: If your summons is for call-in service with the requirement to report within a one hour notice, and your position requires a substitute, it is recommended that you request a specific reporting date as it is not possible to obtain a substitute on short notice during the work day.
- You will be sent a confirmation letter from Human Resources advising you whether your request for jury duty leave with pay has been approved or denied. (If denied, additional instructions will be included.)
- When reporting for jury duty, please treat this as a regular absence and follow the regular absence procedure.
- The court will give you a Certification of Jury Service indicating the day or days served. This form must be attached to the Verification of Absence form that you will complete upon your return to work.
With HR approval secured as outlined above, employees will be paid for as many days of jury service as are required by the court.
As of August 2004, in an effort to avoid duplicate payment of public funds, California Superior Court jurors employed by a government entity (including school districts) who receive their regular compensation during jury service may not be paid daily jury duty fees by the court (California Code of Civil Procedure, Section 215). Hence, when completing the juror affidavit questionnaire, it is your responsibility to check the “Government/Public Employee” box (rather than “Employed”). This alerts the court to withhold payment of jury fees (although you will still receive mileage reimbursement, unless you have elected to waive it).
Note: Employees summoned to United States District Court are entitled to jury fees. Hence, in accordance with current employee contract agreements, an amount equal to the jury fees paid by the court will automatically be withheld from the employee’s subsequent pay.
Additional details regarding jury duty can be found in employee handbooks and contract agreements.