Most states require employers to allow employees unpaid time off to serve jury duty—and employers may require employees to show their jury summons to be allowed the time off of work. Federal law—The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)—does not require an employer to pay an employee for time spent on jury duty. But some state laws require employers to pay employees for time spent serving jury duty.

There is no state or federal law that prevents an employer from requiring an employee to use vacation or other paid time off for jury duty. But an employer may not punish an employee for time away from work based on a valid jury summons. If an employee’s time away from work will cause an employer unusual difficulty (undue hardship) due to seasonal work demands, for example, the employee may be excused from jury duty—at least until a future date.

Most states pay persons who are selected to serve on juries for each day they serve on the jury and reimburse some expenses such as travel and parking. But a person is generally not paid for the first day they are summoned to the courthouse to determine whether they will be selected for jury duty. And jury duty pay is generally a token amount—not a replacement for employee wages.

Laws regarding jury duty are usually located in a state’s statutes.

In Illinois, employers are required to allow employees unpaid time off to serve on jury duty. While the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not mandate employers to pay for time spent on jury duty, Illinois law does require employers to pay full-time employees their regular wages for the first five days of jury service. However, employers can deduct any compensation the employee receives for jury duty from their wages. Employers in Illinois are prohibited from firing, threatening, or coercing employees who take time off to serve on a jury. Employees must present their jury summons to their employer to receive these protections. There is no Illinois law that prevents employers from requiring employees to use vacation or other paid time off for jury duty beyond the first five days. If serving on a jury would cause the employer undue hardship, the employee may be excused from jury duty. Jurors in Illinois are paid a stipend for their service, which is intended to cover expenses such as travel and parking, but this amount is not meant to replace regular wages.