How HR can craft a paid jury duty leave benefit

One of our greatest responsibilities as Americans is fulfilling our civic duty when called upon. Sometimes, that means serving on a jury. Unfortunately, it’s hard to feel pride in that when many miss work, and as a result, chunks of their paycheck, for that constitutionally mandated obligation.

In some ways, jury duty can be a lose-lose situation for businesses and their employees. Businesses are down employees, impacting productivity, while employees risk missing critical income—at a time when people are living paycheck-to-paycheck to survive high costs of living —while work piles up during their absence.

In certain states, employers are required to pay for at least some portion of an employee’s jury duty leave, though how much employers have to pay, and for how many days, varies. As employers have looked to offer benefits that support employees’ well-being, establishing a consistent paid jury duty benefit has emerged as an option.

“I do think the trend is towards employee health and well being and providing those sorts of benefits. And I see jury duty sort of in line with that,” Jen Passannante, senior counsel at Justworks, told HR Brew. “Certainly not all employers do it or can do it, but I think where possible, it is something that employers, when they can, try and be accommodating about.”

What’s the upside? Employers that don’t already offer a paid jury duty leave benefit to employees might consider the positives of implementing them.

Statistically speaking, the chances of an employee being summoned for jury duty, let alone have to miss multiple days of work for a trial, are slim: Only 14.4% of Americans receive a jury duty summons in the mail, and not all who receive a summons must report to court, according to the National Center for State Courts.

“Usually you’re potentially called for jury duty once every few years, if that,” Passannante said. “It often ends up being one day, maybe two days of time. It’s a much rarer situation where you have an employee that is actually called to sit on a trial.”

For the few workers who are selected, knowing they’re getting paid by their employer could alleviate stress and boost morale, potentially creating a competitive advantage for the company.

“The employer is viewed as a supporter of their community and one who cares about an employee’s financial well being,” Mary Armstrong-Flippo, area SVP of absence and productivity at consulting firm Gallagher, told HR Brew. “Imagine if you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck and, now, your civic duty requires you to be out of work for a week or 10 days. So an employer who’s doing that, they get a lot of points with that employee.”

What’s the downside? That said, offering paid jury duty leave can be financially difficult for many employers. For smaller businesses—which make up the majority of employers in the US—frequent absences for jury duty can significantly impact operations.

“I think sometimes it can be daunting for employers, especially small employers, to cover employees when you only have two, three, or five employees and one is out for jury duty,” said Passannante. It’s often easier for larger employers to offer jury duty leave as a paid benefit, she added, noting, however, that she has increasingly seen employers try to offer it when possible.

The financial risks are similar for employers in industries experiencing labor shortages, such as healthcare.

“You’re paying someone not to work, and productivity could take a hit if they’re out for a little while. It’s especially expensive if the employer has to hire replacement workers, like hospitals, manufacturing, or something like that,” said Armstrong-Flippo. “Those are real hard dollar costs.”

Time to deliberate. For HR leaders who are interested in offering paid jury duty leave, experts recommended they take several factors into consideration.

To start, employers should look at the regulatory requirements of the state(s) in which they operate, and ensure they are at least compliant with those laws. They should also consider the expected frequency and duration of service, additional costs they’d incur from, for example, needing to hire temporary workers, and what administrative work might be needed, such as requiring employees to provide proof of a summons or their jury duty pay stubs to deduct from payroll.

Regardless of the approach they take, HR leaders should ensure they document and consistently apply a formal policy, experts told HR Brew.

“You want to look at what you can consistently apply across the board to your employees…as opposed to an ad hoc approach,” said Passannante, adding: “It’s always a good thing to not just be reactive, but to be looking at: What can we do for our employees, and what will be our position going forward in terms of how we can accommodate this?”