§PlainStatute

Work · Jury Duty

Does Your Employer Have to Pay You for Jury Duty?

Whether your employer must pay you during jury duty in each state, the one state that requires it, and the separate rule, true almost everywhere, that you cannot be fired for serving. Each cited to the statute.

6 of 50 states published. 3 verified against the official statute; the rest drafted from corroborating sources while the official portal is confirmed.Two different questions: must the employer pay you (rare), and can it fire you for serving (no, almost everywhere). Keep them apart.

Read this first: pay is rare, job protection is not

The question people ask, does my employer have to pay me for jury duty, has a surprising answer: usually no. Of these six states, only New York requires an employer to pay, and only large employers, $72 a day for the first three days. In California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, the time off is unpaid unless the employer chooses to pay.

The separate question, can you be fired for serving, has a much clearer answer: no, almost everywhere. All six states protect your job. The one exception is Pennsylvania, which exempts small retail, service, and manufacturing employers from even the anti-firing rule. Do not let "you can’t be fired" bleed into "you must be paid," because they are independent. Every figure links to the statute, and pages still pending verification say so.

Pick your state

Whether the employer must pay, whether your job is protected, and the statute on each card.

C

CA
California
Not required to pay
Employer pay
Job protected?Yes, protected
Statute§230(a)

F

FL
Florida
Not required to pay
Employer pay
Job protected?Yes, protected
Statute§40.271

I

IL
IllinoisDraft
Not required to pay
Employer pay
Job protected?Yes, protected
Statute705 ILCS 305/4.1

N

NY
New York
Must pay first 3 days
Employer pay
Job protected?Yes, protected
Statute§519

P

PA
PennsylvaniaDraft
Not required to pay
Employer pay
Job protected?Yes (size limits)
Statute§4563

T

TX
TexasDraft
Not required to pay
Employer pay
Job protected?Yes, protected
Statute§122.001

What these pages are, and what they aren't

Each state page is a reference for whether an employer must pay for jury duty and the job protection for serving. They are deliberately not advice for your job: employer size, notice rules, and remedies can all matter, so each page links to the statute and a wage-claim route. This is legal information, not legal advice.