Massachusetts - Jury Duty Employer Obligations

in Massachusetts, your employer is not only required to give you leave for jury duty, but they are required to pay you your normal wages for all working hours spent at jury selection or jury duty. This is a rare guarantee, as most states only require that employees be provided with unpaid leave for serving on a jury.

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.

Jurors regularly employed are defined as full-time, part-time, temporary, and casual employees, whose work hours can be reasonably determined by a schedule, custom, or practice established during the 3-month period preceding the jury service summons date.

Regular employees are entitled to regular wages for the first three days of jury summons, reporting, and service.

You will receive a nominal jury duty payment from the State of Massachusetts 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.

An employer shall not harass, threaten, coerce or dismiss an employee because they receive a juror summons, respond thereto, or perform any obligation or election of juror service.

You should be sure to show your employer your Massachusetts 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.

An employer will be guilty of a crime and, upon conviction, may be punished by a fine of up to $5,000.

An employer not paying 3 days wages may be found in tort, and the court may award treble damages and reasonable attorney fees to the juror.

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.