Illinois - Jury Duty Employer Obligations

In Illinois, employers are required to provide you with unpaid time off for reporting to jury selection or jury duty. You may have to show your employer your jury summons in order to be given the necessary leave.

Your employer can never punish you for missing work to attend jury duty. However, if missing work would cause your employer undue hardship, it may be considered as an acceptable jury duty excuse.

Employee must give reasonable notice for leave, defined by the state as "within 10 days of the date of issuance of the summons to the employee."

Regular night shift worker entitled to time off work while such employee is doing jury duty in the daytime.

No employer is obligated to compensate an employee for time taken off for jury duty in the state of Illinois.

You will receive a nominal jury duty payment from the State of Illinois for each day you serve on a jury, as well as potential reimbursements for travel expenses. However, jury duty pay tends to be a token amount rather than actual compensation.

No employer shall discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate or coerce any employee who gave reasonable notice, for attending or responding to jury service in any court of the state of Illinois.

You should be sure to show your employer your Illinois jury duty summons letter when you receive it, and update them with your jury duty dates if you are assigned to a trial, to ensure that you receive your mandatory time off.

Petition for civil contempt, criminal contempt, or both, against the employer to be filed and prosecuted by the State's Attorney; and if guilty, the employer is liable for damages for any loss of wages or other benefits suffered by a discharged employee

and may be ordered to reinstate the employee without loss of seniority.

If you have been punished for missing work due to jury duty, contact the joror office of the court that summoned you, and they will assist in ensuring that your rights are protected.