(a) Upon written application on a form prescribed by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator, the court may excuse (1) an employer from the duty to compensate a juror-employee, or (2) a self-employed juror from the duty to compensate himself or herself. In such instances, the court shall make a finding that extreme financial hardship would be imposed if such duty were not removed. If an employer or self-employed juror is so excused from making payment, the court shall award to the juror the amount the court finds to be the juror's regular wages, to be paid by the state, for the first five days, or part thereof, of juror service but in no event shall such award exceed fifty dollars per day.

(b) The Jury Administrator shall mail or the clerk of the court shall give the waiver applications as provided for in subsection (a) of this section and juror service certificates to jurors who have performed juror service. The Office of the Chief Court Administrator may combine into one form the waiver application and the juror service certificate. The juror service certificate shall contain: (1) The name and address of the juror; (2) the court location in which the juror service was performed; (3) the number of days of juror service performed by the juror and the specific dates thereof; (4) the total compensation received by the juror for the period of juror service involved; (5) a declaration of the duty of an employer to compensate a juror-employee for the first five days or part thereof of juror service; (6) the right of an employer to be excused from such duty by the court upon a finding of extreme financial hardship; and (7) any other information which the Jury Administrator deems appropriate. Each juror service certificate shall be completed in duplicate, one copy of which shall be for the juror and one copy of which shall be for the employer of the juror. A juror who seeks compensation from the juror's employer for juror service shall tender the employer's copy of the juror service certificate and the waiver application to the juror's employer as soon as practicable after its receipt.

(c) An employer may file a waiver application not later than fifteen days after its receipt by the employer. The waiver application shall be submitted to the court location where the juror served. If an application is denied, the party making the application may apply for a hearing no later than twenty days from the date of the finding by the court.

(P.A. 87-385, S. 2, 4; P.A. 91-160, S. 2, 3; P.A. 94-169, S. 19, 20; P.A. 07-217, S. 190.)

History: P.A. 87-385 effective September 1, 1988; P.A. 91-160 changed “three” days to “five” days and in Subsec. (d) deleted “to serve on or after September 1, 1988,” and substituted “for service to begin on or after September 1, 1991,” in lieu thereof; P.A. 94-169 deleted Subsec. (d) which had limited applicability of section, effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 07-217 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a) and (b), effective July 12, 2007.