Dallas Employment Law Specialist Discusses Jury Duty

Dallas, United States, 06/29/2014 / SubmitMyPR /

Individuals aren’t the only ones who complain about jury duty; employers often gripe about the work time employees miss to fulfill their civic obligations. But, as Dallas employment law specialist Keith Clouse points out, state and federal laws protect employees who serve on juries.

State and federal laws mandate that an employer allow an employee to take leave to serve on a jury. These laws also prevent an employer from firing an employee because the employee takes leave to serve on a jury. Certain safeguards protect an employers’ interest. For example, an employer is not required to pay an employee for time he spends serving on a jury if the employee is not exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act. (Whether an employee who is exempt from the FLSA must be paid depends on a few factors.) Also, an employer may verify an employee’s request for leave to serve on a jury by asking to see the jury summons issued by the court. This prevents an employee from taking unauthorized time off from work by falsely claiming to be serving on a jury.

This article is presented by the Dallas employment lawyers at Clouse Dunn LLP. For inquiries, send an email to [email protected] or call (214) 239-2705.