Utah - Jury Duty Employer Obligations

In Utah, 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.

No provisions in Utah statute require an employee to pay their employer for leave due to jury duty.

An employee may not be required to use annual, vacation, or sick leave for time spent responding to a summons for jury duty.

An employer is not required to provide annual, vacation, or sick leave to employees who are not otherwise entitled to those benefits under company policies.

You will receive a nominal jury duty payment from the State of Utah 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 employee may not be deprived of employment, threatened, coerced, or be subjected to any adverse employment action,due to their jury service obligations.

An employee may not be required or requested to use annual, vacation, or sick leave for time spent responding to a summons for jury duty, time spent participating in the jury selection process, or for time spent actually serving on a jury.

You should be sure to show your employer your Utah 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 may be found guilty of criminal contempt and may be fined up to $500, or imprisoned up to 6 months, or both.

A discharged employee, within 30 days, may bring a civil action for recovery of wages and a reinstatement order. Damages recoverable may not exceed lost wages for six weeks. If the employee prevails, the employee shall be allowed reasonable attorney fees fixed by the court.

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.