Work · Jury Duty
Jury Duty Pay in Michigan
Whether your employer must pay you during jury duty in Michigan, whether your job is protected for serving, the notice rules, and the remedies. Cited to the statute.
How jury-duty pay works in Michigan
Whether the employer must pay, whether your job is protected, and the notice and remedies.
| How it works | What it means |
|---|---|
| No wage mandate | Revised Judicature Act Chapter 13 contains no wage-continuation provision. An employer may pay voluntarily or under a collective bargaining agreement, but Michigan law imposes no wage obligation. |
| A threat alone is the offense | MCL 600.1348(1) reaches an employer who threatens to discharge or discipline as well as one who actually does it. The employee does not have to be fired for the section to be violated. |
| Past jury service is protected too | The section covers a person who is summoned for jury duty, serves on a jury, or has served on a jury, so retaliation weeks after the trial ends is still within the section. |
| Agents are covered | The words are an employer or the employer’s agent, so a supervisor or staffing agency acting for the employer is inside the prohibition, as is an employer who causes the discharge or discipline rather than doing it directly. |
| You cannot be made to work the day back | MCL 600.1348(2) separately makes it a misdemeanor to require a juror to work make-up hours that exceed the hours normally worked in a day or that run past the normal quitting time, unless the person agrees or a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise. |
| Exceptions and remedies | What it means |
|---|---|
| The higher pay tier is conditional | The $30 and $45 county floors apply only if the state court administrator determines that the juror compensation reimbursement fund holds more than $2,000,000. Without that determination for a fiscal year, the baseline $25 and $40 floors govern. |
| County discretion sits on top of the floor | MCL 600.1344(2) sets the rate by the county board of commissioners, so two jurors serving on the same day in different counties can lawfully be paid different amounts. Only the floor is statewide. |
| Getting paid makes you a juror for repeat-service rules | MCL 600.1307a(7) treats a person as having served once they are paid for jury service, which starts the clock that can disqualify a person from serving again for a period. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps if you are summoned for jury duty in Michigan. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Give your employer prompt notice
Provide the summons as soon as you receive it, and keep a copy. Documentation matters if the employer later retaliates.
- Report a threat, not just a firing
Because a bare threat to discipline or discharge is itself a misdemeanor under MCL 600.1348(1), you can report retaliation even if you were never actually fired.
- Contact the prosecutor or the court
Employer retaliation is a criminal matter and a contempt matter. The county prosecutor can charge the misdemeanor and the court can hold the employer in contempt.
- Get Michigan help for lost pay
Because the jury statute provides no damages remedy, an employment attorney or a legal aid office can advise whether another claim covers wages you lost.
If you are punished for serving, or owed jury pay, a state labor agency can take your claim. This resource points to the right office.
→ Michigan Legal HelpThis is general legal information, not legal advice. Employer size, notice rules, and remedies can change the answer, so confirm your situation against the statute or with a licensed attorney.
What Michigan workers get wrong about jury duty
Michigan answers the jury-duty question the same way North Carolina does on pay and a very different way on remedy. No employer has to pay your wages while you serve, because no section in Revised Judicature Act Chapter 13 imposes a wage duty. The one section that reaches employers, MCL 600.1348, is a prohibition. And it is a broad one. Subsection (1) makes it a misdemeanor for an employer or the employer’s agent to threaten to discharge or discipline, or actually to discharge or discipline, a person because that person is summoned for jury duty, serves on a jury, or has served on a jury. A bare threat is enough, and past service counts, not just current service. Subsection (2) adds that an employer cannot force a juror to work make-up hours beyond a normal day. What Michigan does not give you is a civil claim. The statute ends each subsection with the words that the employer is guilty of a misdemeanor and may also be punished for contempt of court, and it stops there. There is no damages measure and no reinstatement right in the section. Your money, meanwhile, comes from the county under MCL 600.1344, floored at $25 the first day and $40 after, rising to $30 and $45 when the state fund is flush.
Common questions
Does my employer have to pay me for jury duty in Michigan?
No. Revised Judicature Act Chapter 13 contains no wage-continuation provision, so a private employer need not pay you. The county pays a fee under MCL 600.1344 of at least $25 the first day and $40 each later day. An employer may pay voluntarily or under a union contract, but the law does not require it.
Can I be fired for jury duty in Michigan?
No. MCL 600.1348(1) makes it a misdemeanor for an employer even to threaten to discharge or discipline you because you are summoned for, serve on, or have served on a jury, and the employer may also be punished for contempt of court.
What can I do if my Michigan employer retaliates over jury duty?
Employer retaliation is a criminal misdemeanor and a contempt matter under MCL 600.1348. The county prosecutor can charge it and the court can hold the employer in contempt. The section itself gives no civil damages, so consult an attorney about other claims for lost pay.
How much does Michigan pay a juror?
The county board of commissioners sets the rate above statutory floors. MCL 600.1344(2) floors it at $25 for the first day and $40 for each later day, rising to $30 and $45 when the state juror compensation fund holds more than $2,000,000, plus mileage of at least 20 cents per mile.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.