Grand jury duty summons

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Oct 28, 2014

You have not been selected yet. If you are, you could request an exemption , based on your professional duties.

Most facilities will pay you for the time off to perform jury duty. Have a friend that worked for a local retailer... that worked around her grand jury duties. One would hope that a hospital would do the same!

T-Bird78 · Oct 28, 2014

Isn't your employer required to accommodate your jury duty? I've also never heard of 2 days a week for that long, it's usually more like a full week for the duration of a trial. Go to your summons and see what happens.

QuiltDog · Oct 28, 2014

I did grand jury duty. It was 2 days a week for 3 months. My employer accommodated this and I have to say, it was a great experience.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Oct 28, 2014

Hopefully you don't get selected! I've only gotten a summons for jury duty once, and didn't end up even having to go to the courthouse; I just called in during the indicated time period.

Your employer has to accommodate your civic duty. Maybe if you have to go, you can pick up some extra weekend shifts or something? I don't know how much pay you get for jury duty but assume it's less than RN pay. I can see that being a real concern. But I wouldn't worry about staffing. That's the job of the staffing office, and they all know what jury duty is and that it's a possibility at any time for any employee.

Anyway, when I got my summons I notified my scheduler immediately so she had as much time as possible to arrange backup for me, should I have had to go in.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Oct 28, 2014

Yes, your employer is required to accommodate the jury schedule. No, they are not required to pay you; some employers will pay the difference between what you are paid through the court and your normal pay, and I've seen it done where you'd sign over the government check to the employer and they would pay you your normal wages. I've also seen it where the employer says you can use PTO, or offer nothing at all.

If you request to be excused from participation, you are only really requesting a postponement: you can and will be called again at a later time. You really aren't excused so much as "putting it off". And there's never really a good time for this, is there?

Let the staffing office worry about this; it happens all the time, as of course you aren't the first person working there who was ever handed a jury summons :)

Last time I was called, I tried to get a postponement with a phone call. No dice. I had to go in and wait.....I tried to ask anyone who would listen about a postponement, or being excused, and NO ONE would listen. Nope, had to sit there for hours, until eventually my number got called, I got to the jury box to be questioned by the attorneys about my biases, etc. And when one of them asked if I would have any problems being on the jury, I said YES!!! and then told them why. I was then excused

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · Oct 28, 2014

To the OP- Talk to your employer and see what happens. MOST work around it and MANY employers pay the difference. For those who are too important to be a juror.. I understand that people feel that it is an inconvenience to be on a jury, BUT it is a worthy cause. What if YOU had a case pending, and it had to be postponed several times because no one wanted to be a juror. If it was you going before the grand jury or having a trial you would want a group of your peers not just the people who had nothing better to do with their time.. People need to show some respect and courtesy towards their fellow citizens. Now there are legit reasons why some cannot and should not, but seriously the rest of us need to do the right thing.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Oct 28, 2014

To the OP- Talk to your employer and see what happens. MOST work around it and MANY employers pay the difference. For those who are too important to be a juror.. I understand that people feel that it is an inconvenience to be on a jury, BUT it is a worthy cause. What if YOU had a case pending, and it had to be postponed several times because no one wanted to be a juror. If it was you going before the grand jury or having a trial you would want a group of your peers not just the people who had nothing better to do with their time.. People need to show some respect and courtesy towards their fellow citizens. Now there are legit reasons why some cannot and should not, but seriously the rest of us need to do the right thing.

Not sure where this is coming from, as NO ONE on this thread said they felt too important to not be on a jury.....? I said I needed a postponement, certainly you didn't misinterpret that to mean I felt too self-important to be on the jury....? I didn't share the reason I needed to not sit on that jury, as that's none of anyone's business. But to suggest it's because I felt "too important" is way outta line.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Oct 28, 2014

I've sat on two trials before, for jury duty. Fortunately my current employer pays me my regular wage and that allows me to decline the jury stipend (which is very small). I have not been asked to sit on a Grand Jury, however my Dad was on a Grand Jury for it's term of a year, I believe. He enjoyed the experience and as he was retired at the time, he was also glad just to have something to do...

It's good that you've requested assistance from HR on this. That way you can report to the Court what your employer will and will not work with. Save any and all correspondence with HR about this because that way you have a "paper trail" just in the event that something "adverse" happens during the course of your Jury Service and they find a way to let you go.

While employers are supposed to know and be aware that they're not allowed to take adverse action against you for Jury Service (not as sure about Grand Jury service though), they don't have to pay you for the times you're actually doing service and they're not supposed to discharge you or take any other adverse action against you... however they still very well may try it because they may think they can do it and not get caught.

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · Oct 28, 2014

Not sure where this is coming from, as NO ONE on this thread said they felt too important to not be on a jury.....? I said I needed a postponement, certainly you didn't misinterpret that to mean I felt too self-important to be on the jury....? I didn't share the reason I needed to not sit on that jury, as that's none of anyone's business. But to suggest it's because I felt "too important" is way outta line.

I'm sure if you re-read my post you will see that I never referenced you. So perhaps you read my post wrong? Maybe you feel a bit guilty? I don't know, but again I never mentioned any names, and in fact didn't consider you to be part of the group I was talking about.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Oct 28, 2014

I'm sure if you re-read my post you will see that I never referenced you. So perhaps you read my post wrong? Maybe you feel a bit guilty? I don't know, but again I never mentioned any names, and in fact didn't consider you to be part of the group I was talking about.

Ok, sorry! No, I don't feel guilty, LOL....it was just that you posted right after mine, and I was the only one who discussed needing a postponement, so.....led me to believe your "those who feel" was directed at me. Oops.

I have been called to serve several times, actually, and each time I was either dismissed prior to even needing to show up, or I was called to show up but then not needed to be questioned....and when I finally GOT to the questioning phase---yep, couldn't possibly do it then!

Maybe one day :)

ErinDel, ASN, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2014

Was on a grand jury mon thru fri for two months. It was a great eye opening experience. I was not paid by my employer as i was per diem but i was paid 50 dollars per day for serving as a juror. It can be an inconvenience, but if you are able to serve, then i recommend it.