As long as you are a US citizen, 18 years or older, a non-felon, and a resident of the county where you are summoned, you must serve jury duty when requested. There are no exemptions and your attendance is mandatory. Skipping out of jury duty in New York can result in criminal penalties.
If you have been called for jury duty, it may mean you miss work to attend to your civic duties. Employers are not allowed to penalize workers for attending their jury duty appearance. Employees who must miss work hours will be paid at least $40 a day in jury fees by either the state or their employer, depending on the specific details of your employment. For companies with more than 10 workers, employees will be paid by the employer for the first three days of jury service in the amount of $40 or the by the employee’s wage rate, whichever is lower. After the three days is over, the state will pay the fee. The rules for serving jury duty are the same for full time workers and part time workers.
If you have been selected for jury duty, it is important to bring the summons to your supervisor at work as soon as you receive it. They may need time to coordinate schedules if you are chosen for service. Again, employees cannot be penalized for missing work and any employer that does discharge a worker during their time in jury duty can be prosecuted by the Attorney General. Employees do not need to use vacation, sick, or personal time to serve on jury duty and it is illegal for employers to insist on that use of time. Additionally, employees cannot be forced to work on their days off in an effort to make up missed time due to jury duty.
For employers and employees dealing with questions about jury duty, the New York Court System has an informational brochure concerning jury duty service.
