Can they force me to work weekends during jury duty???

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi everyone,

I'm a Florida nurse who's employed full-time by a large hospital in the Ft. Lauderdale area. I've been called to Federal jury duty, and I've just been seated on a trial which the judge says will last for 3 weeks or longer. Naturally, I'm obligated to report to the courthouse Monday through Friday from approximately 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. throughout the course of the trial.

I informed my clinical manager about this last night and she wasn't very pleased. She also told me that if I'm scheduled to work during any weekends during my course of jury duty, that I would need to work those shifts. To me this seems outrageous and I'm feeling very exploited! Has this ever happened to anyone else? Does my employer have legal grounds to demand that I work these hours? Thanks!

Specializes in med-surg, home health, dialysis, NICU-MB.
I still don't think you should even be expected to work at all. It's ridiculous that they won't accommodate you.

I have to agree with you SaoirseRN....but after being a nurse for 30+ years I guess I'm used to being trampled on. :***:

It's helped me to verbalize my frustrations about this here on this forum and I really do appreciate everyone's input!

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.
... why shouldn't she be expected to work the week-end...

For the many reasons previously discussed in this thread.

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.
... A juror sits in a chair and listens... they are not doing any labor...

Guess so... sounds a lot like a charge nurse, Unit Manager, ADON and DON, :)

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.
... Sure your not doing what you may like to be doing on your days off...

That's an assumption.

Perhaps, the OP may wish to be at work, but realize she may not be able to give it her best under the circumstances... or be at her best when she returns to fulfill her civic duty on Monday.

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.
... if you are a night shift employee and had to work Sun night then you would need to be excused from work Sunday night...

Inconsistent?

If she gets off work Monday at 7a or 7:30a, then she may still have enough time to get to the Federal building and just sit there and listen, and do nothing else. And she can just suck it up if it poses her any probs. :eek:

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If the Op works scheduled 8 hr shifts /5 days a week and 2 of those days are the week-end why shouldn't she be expected to work the week-end. Just because she was in the courtroom 5 days doesn't exclude her for working a scheduled week-end Being on a jury is not a "job" as many posters alluded to. A juror sits in a chair and listens... they are not doing any labor. Again as a juror you are not "working" . Sure your not doing what you may like to be doing on your days off but as mentioned it is only for 3 weeks and your civic duty. If you are a 12 hour employee and 2 of your 3 days are the week-end then absolutelty you are expected to work. Now if you are a night shift employee and had to work Sun night then you would need to be excused from work Sunday night so you could attend jury Monday morning.....if you worked Friday noc and Sat noc you would be expected to work even if you were in court all day friday. My hospital excuses you on the days you have to serve only. The hospital pays your wage for the day . If the employee missed all their scheduled shifts during the week our employeer can not make the employee pick up other days during the week such as the week-end they can only make them work if they were scheduled the week-end.

By the way we are Unionized.

There are so many things wrong with this...

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My question to the OP is: Did you ever ask a court official if there is a law against working hours that would make you fatigued while on jury duty?

I am surprised at how many fellow nurses find it necessary to advocate their opinion in this thread that one should work regardless of the jury duty, as if the facilities have no other staff they could schedule! Moreover, even if that were true, how does it make it the juror's problem? Asinine attitude IMO.

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Specializes in med-surg, home health, dialysis, NICU-MB.

Thanks Atomic Tom. I did tell one of the judge's assistants that my employer expected me to work during the weekend during my jury duty service and she wasn't sure whether this was legal or illegal. She only said that my employer couldn't force me to work during the hours of my jury duty. She advised me to contact my HR dept. which I did, and as posted previously, yes...they can legally ask that I work on the weekend.

It seems to be a gray area with working nights and 12-hr. shifts, as I can't find anything in writing that addresses fatigue, too many work hours,,etc,,,as it relates to jury duty. If push comes to shove, my next step would be to call the labor board.

If I have to work a night shift on Saturday here and there...I suppose I can deal with that. However, if they expect me to work a night shift on either Friday or Sunday, that would butt up against the time that I need to be at the courthouse, meaning I'd be up for over 24 hours. That just wouldn't be doable for me!

I'm going to have a little down time from the courthouse this week, as there's a matter in the trial that can't be heard by the jury. I'm going to use that time to go talk with my nurse manager, give her my views, and try to get this sorted out.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

Seems as if some people have missed the major magic words in OP's post. FEDERAL JURY DUTY. I live in Florida and I served as a Federal Juror some years ago. While I served I WAS NOT allowed to work along with a ton of other things.

The best thing the OP can do is speak to someone at the court house and explain to them what is going on. Remember, this is Federal, not your local County and Federal does have a different set of rules.

Hope this helps and Thank You for doing your civic duty.

THIS...

I've been reading along as well...and I think the point has been missed that the OP is doing FEDERAL jury duty...she CAN'T work.

There was a time that when jury duty was separate from ANY TIME OFF...in other words, you can not use sick time/PTO for that time off...still in my area, jury duty is not used as PTO/Sick/Vacation...it is coded as jury duty. :yes:

I'm not sure about other areas though...:nailbiting: but for federal jury duty=CAN NOT work...

The OP stated she spoke to a CLINICAL manager; ie a supervisor; not her NM...a difference, hopefully.

OP, if you have to get a federal court officer to contact your NM or HR or someone else higher up; so be it...if your employer has a problem with it...you may need a lawyer on board at the end I this case, depending on your area...

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Thanks Atomic Tom. I did tell one of the judge's assistants that my employer expected me to work during the weekend during my jury duty service and she wasn't sure whether this was legal or illegal. ...

If I have to work a night shift on Saturday here and there...I suppose I can deal with that. However, if they expect me to work a night shift on either Friday or Sunday, that would butt up against the time that I need to be at the courthouse, meaning I'd be up for over 24 hours. That just wouldn't be doable for me!

I'm going to have a little down time from the courthouse this week, as there's a matter in the trial that can't be heard by the jury. I'm going to use that time to go talk with my nurse manager, give her my views, and try to get this sorted out.

I would think it would be better to ask a court OFFICIAL simply because if you fall asleep and cause a mistrial you will have one unhappy judge on your hands. An assistant is probably not an official.

You seem to be trying to do your civic duty as opposed to getting a (poorly-paid) vacation from work, and being able to pay attention is part of that duty. If there's never a convenient time to ask (verbally/informally) you should email a court clerk or even the judge, since the clerks answer that email under the judge's guidance. Just copy and paste your middle paragraph from above.

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.
Thanks Atomic Tom. I did tell one of the judge's assistants that my employer expected me to work during the weekend during my jury duty service and she wasn't sure whether this was legal or illegal. She only said that my employer couldn't force me to work during the hours of my jury duty. She advised me to contact my HR dept. which I did, and as posted previously, yes...they can legally ask that I work on the weekend.

It seems to be a gray area with working nights and 12-hr. shifts, as I can't find anything in writing that addresses fatigue, too many work hours,,etc,,,as it relates to jury duty. If push comes to shove, my next step would be to call the labor board.

.

Why didn't the clerk ask the judge? From the courts' position, the issue is that a juror forced to work the weekend, especially overnight, is potentially fatigued and unable to devote their full attention and energy to the matter at hand. Don't know what the case is, but it's something Where the outcome is going to affect one on more person's life.

That's pretty important.

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So when you're sick in your days off, do you get Sick leave?

I can actually cash in on my PTO without taking the time off from work. And in my state, when you leave an employee, your remaining PTO is paid out to you because it is an earned benefit.

But this is not the situation the OP is in.

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