Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in Arizona
At a glance
| Governing law | Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 21-236, 23-1501(A)(3)(c)(iv), 13-707(A)(3), and 13-802(C) |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | PTO protection covers responding to a jury summons, participating in jury selection, and actually serving; permission, anti-penalty, seniority, and return rights expressly address service as a grand or trial juror (§ 21-236(A)-(C)) |
| Employers and employees covered | Any employer and employee; no general size, tenure, schedule, or classification gate. For an employer with five or fewer full-time employees or equivalents, the court must postpone one employee's service if another employee is serving during the same period (§ 21-236(D)); this is postponement, not loss of protection |
| Time-off entitlement | Employer may not refuse permission to serve and may not dismiss or otherwise penalize an employee because of grand- or trial-jury service (§ 21-236(B)); employee must return to the prior position or a higher position earned through preserved seniority or precedence (§ 21-236(C)) |
| Employer-paid wages | None. Section 21-236(B) expressly says the employer need not compensate an employee absent because of jury service |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | Employer may not require or request annual, vacation, or sick leave for summons response, selection, or service and need not create benefits otherwise unavailable (§ 21-236(A)); no employer-wage offset rule for court-paid juror fees stated |
| Employee notice and proof | No employee-to-employer notice deadline, written-notice form, summons-copy duty, attendance-certificate rule, or other proof requirement stated in § 21-236 |
| Scheduling and return-to-work rules | No night-shift rest, same-day return, or make-up-time rule stated. Court must postpone and reschedule a summoned juror employed by an employer with five or fewer full-time employees or equivalents if another employee is serving during the same period; separate automatic-postponement right is preserved (§ 21-236(D)) |
| Job protection and remedies | No refusal of service, dismissal, or any penalty; seniority/precedence and return position preserved (§ 21-236(B)-(C)). Any violation is a Class 3 misdemeanor (§ 21-236(E)), with up to 30 days' imprisonment and a $500 fine (§§ 13-707(A)(3), 13-802(C)). Section 23-1501(A)(3)(c)(iv) recognizes an employee claim for retaliatory termination based on jury service protected by § 21-236 |
No forced or requested annual, vacation, or sick leave
Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 21-236(A) protects the full jury sequence: responding to a summons, participating in selection, and actually serving. For that time, an employer may not require or even request that the employee use annual, vacation, or sick leave. The employer does not have to create any of those benefits for an employee who otherwise lacks them under company policy.
The statutory floor is nevertheless unpaid. Section 21-236(B) expressly says an employer need not compensate an employee absent because of jury service.
Permission, seniority, and return position
An employer may not refuse to permit jury service and may not dismiss or in any way penalize an employee because the employee serves as a grand or trial juror. During that absence, the employee keeps seniority and precedence.
Upon return, § 21-236(C) requires restoration to the previous position or to a higher position commensurate with the employee's ability and experience if ordinary seniority or precedence would entitle the employee to it.
Small-employer postponement
The five-worker rule is not an exemption from employment protection. If an employer has five or fewer full-time employees or their equivalent and one employee is already serving as a juror, the court must postpone and reschedule another summoned employee whose service overlaps.
That statutory postponement does not consume the person's separate right to one automatic postponement under § 21-336.
Notice, scheduling, and enforcement
Section 21-236 states no employee-to-employer notice deadline, mandatory written form, summons-copy or attendance-proof rule, night-shift rest period, same-day return rule, or make-up-time rule. It also states no rule coordinating employer wages with court-paid juror fees.
Any violation of § 21-236 is a Class 3 misdemeanor, carrying up to 30 days of imprisonment under § 13-707(A)(3) and a fine up to $500 under § 13-802(C). Separately, § 23-1501(A)(3)(c)(iv) recognizes an employee claim when the employer terminates employment in retaliation for jury service protected by § 21-236.
What trips people up
Arizona bars a request as well as a requirement to use the three named leave balances. A supervisor should not frame annual, vacation, or sick leave as the expected way to cover protected jury time.
The anti-penalty and restoration provisions expressly name grand and trial jurors. The broader PTO paragraph also reaches summons response and selection, before actual jury service begins.
Common questions
Must an Arizona employer pay wages during jury duty?
No. Section 21-236(B) expressly says the employer is not required to compensate the employee for the absence.
Can an employer require vacation or sick leave?
No. The employer may not require or request annual, vacation, or sick leave for summons response, jury selection, or actual service.
Does the employee keep seniority?
Yes. Seniority and precedence are preserved, and the employee must return to the previous position or a higher position earned through those rights.
What happens when two workers at a very small employer are summoned?
If the employer has five or fewer full-time employees or equivalents and one employee is already serving, the court must postpone and reschedule the other employee's overlapping service.
Statutes and sources
- Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 21-236(A)-(E): no forced or requested leave balances, permission to serve, unpaid status, seniority, return position, small- employer postponement, and misdemeanor — official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
- Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 23-1501(A)(3)(c)(iv): retaliatory-termination claim for protected jury service — official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
- Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-707(A)(3) and 13-802(C): Class 3 misdemeanor jail and fine maximums — official jail text and official fine text (accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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