Employers of Jury Members

"The Jury System and Employers"

As Published By:
The Nebraska Administrative Office
Of the Courts and Probation

P.O. Box 98910 - Lincoln, NE 68509 - 402-471-3730

The right to a trial by jury is written into the United States and Nebraska Constitutions, and is a fundamental right guaranteed to every citizen.
Our system of justice depends on the willingness of private citizens to serve on juries and to make important decisions in court cases.
The courts of the state are also depending on your as an employer to treat your employees fairly and excuse them from their regular work day without penalty for jury duty.
Remember, jurors are selected randomly and are limited in their length of service.
Please help serve justice in Nebraska by supporting your employees throughout their service to Nebraska's court.

Juror Compensation
Your employee will be paid a juror fee for each required service day. Effective January 1, 1994 the rate of pay is $35.00 per day.

How do I pay my employee?

There are several options for you in working out payment with your employee.

Employers may simply pay their employees their regular wage without regard to the juror fee, which is paid to the employee.

The employee may sign over their check from the jury commissioner to the employer; or,

The employer may deduct the juror fee amount from the employee's wages. (Please keep in mind that the county may not be able to send their employee their juror check for several weeks after the conclusion of their service.)

Temporary or "On Call" Employees
All employees, whether temporary or "on call" are still required to come to court when served by a jury summons. Please encourage these employees to participate in the system by allowing flexibility in their job schedules.

Returning to Work and Serving Partial Days

Your employee may be required to serve anywhere from one day to several weeks depending upon the case or whether your employee is chosen to serve on a jury.
Your employee may be required to check in with the court from day to day to see if he or she will be required to report for jury duty that day. The daily check-in procedure may last for several days or weeks, depending on the practice of the court in your county.
You should make arrangements with your employee concerning returning to work if he or she is released from service earlier than expected.

Nebraska Statute 25-1640 states:

"Any person who is summoned to serve on jury duty shall not be subject to discharge from employment, loss of pay, loss of sick leave, loss of vacation time, or any other form of penalty, as a result of his or her absence from employment due to such jury duty, upon giving reasonable notice to his or her employer of such summons. Any person who is summoned to serve on jury duty shall be excused upon request from any shift work for those days required to serve as a juror without loss of pay. No employer shall subject an employee to discharge, loss of vacation time, or any other form of penalty on account of his or her absence from employment by reason of jury duty, except that an employer may reduce the pay of an employee by an amount equal to any compensation, other than expenses, paid by the court for jury duty. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class IV misdemeanor."

Anita R. Childerston, Webmaster