Employer Responsibilities for Employee Jury Duty
In North Carolina, employers are required to provide employees with unpaid time off for reporting to jury selection or jury duty. The employee may have to show the employer the jury summons to be given the necessary leave.
The employer can never punish an employee for missing work to attend jury duty. However, if missing work would cause the employer undue hardship, it may be considered as an acceptable jury duty excuse.
Employers are not required to pay employees while on leave for jury duty.
The employee will receive a nominal jury duty payment from the State of North Carolina for each day the employee serves on a jury, as well as potential reimbursements for travel expenses. However, jury duty pay tends to be a token amount rather than actual compensation.
No employer may discharge or demote any employee because they perform jury duty obligations.
An employee should be sure to show the employer the North Carolina jury duty summons letter when it is received and update the employer with jury duty dates if assigned to a trial, to ensure the employee receives the mandatory time.
Employee/Juror information
In North Carolina, jurors receive nominal compensation of $12.00 for each day spent at jury selection, or while serving on a jury. While other states provide jurors with mileage reimbursement for travel, this is not available in North Carolina.
Juror pay is typically a token amount, set by state or local law decades ago, and is often very low due to not being not adjusted for inflation or rising costs of living.
In addition to this pay, the juror will generally be reimbursed for costs associated with serving as a juror, including parking, tolls, and if necessary, overnight accommodations during multi-day trials away from their home. The courthouse will often provide refreshments and meals during the trial to permit jurors to continue deliberations without leaving. Check with the local courthouse for changes in any of these rules or amenities.
While jury duty pay in North Carolina won’t add up to much, the IRS considers it to be taxable income. Sometimes the court will send you a 1099-G or 1099-MISC form with your jury duty payment, other times you won’t receive a 1099. Mileage reimbursements, and jury duty pay that is signed over to an employer (in cases where an employer pays the employee while on jury duty), are not taxable. You may also be able to claim tax deductions for unreimbursed mileage or expenses incurred during jury duty service.
