When you’re called to jury duty, a jury summons can feel like an unexpected plot twist in your daily life. Serving on a jury is not just a legal obligation; it’s a cornerstone of democracy. It’s part of our civic duty to participate in the justice system. But a lot of people don’t know the correct answer to an important question: Do you get paid to go to jury duty? Read on!
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Do You Get Paid for Jury Duty?
You do get paid for jury duty, but your employer isn’t obligated to pay you.
Your employer is obligated to give you the time off work to participate in jury duty. This doesn’t have to be paid time.
The United States courts do pay you for your jury duty service but it’s not much.
The rate of pay can depend on your state, the number of days you have been a juror, if you are a federal government employee, and what kind of juror you are (Petit Juror or Grand Juror).
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Jury Duty Pay
Most states do not require employers to pay employees when they are away from work serving jury duty.
There are currently ten states that mandate your employer to pay you for jury duty.
If you live in one of the other states, you will be compensated, but it will be at a standard rate and it is not a lot (see below).
To find out how the jury duty laws are in your state, you can read this for the state laws.
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How Much Do Jurors Get Paid?
In most cases, you will get paid a minimum of $50 a day for being a juror. This rate can go up depending on the number of days of the trial.
See this page from the United States courts for more information.
If you are an employee of the federal government, you will get paid your normal daily wage instead of this set juror fee.
Money you earn from jury duty might not be a lot, but it is taxable income, so you do have to claim it.
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How Do You Get Paid for Jury Duty?
Jury duty is either paid by the Court, or by your employer.
If it is by your employer, you should receive your regular pay on your regular schedule.
You are still working, it is just as a juror, instead of your regular job.
If your State doesn’t mandate that employers pay, the Court will pay you for jury duty.
In some cases you will get a combination. The Courts will pay you the daily stipend for jury duty, and your employer will top you up to your regular wages.
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