Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in Colorado
At a glance
| Governing law | Colo. Rev. Stat. Title 13, Art. 71 (Colorado Uniform Jury Selection and Service Act): § 13-71-126 (first-three-days employer pay), § 13-71-127 (hardship excusal), § 13-71-133 (pay enforcement), § 13-71-134 (anti-harassment and job protection). Applies to Colorado state jury service |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Regularly employed trial or grand jurors; the anti-harassment rule covers receiving a juror summons, responding to it, performing juror service, or exercising any right under Article 71 (§§ 13-71-126, 13-71-134). Colorado state-court service, not federal jury duty |
| Employers and employees covered | All regularly employed trial or grand jurors, with 'regular employment' expressly including part-time, temporary, and casual work whose hours can be set by a schedule, custom, or practice in the three months before service (§ 13-71-126); no employer-size gate. An employer may be excused from the pay duty for extreme financial hardship (§ 13-71-127) |
| Time-off entitlement | Job-protected. The employer may not deprive a juror of employment or its benefits, or harass, threaten, or coerce them for a summons, response, or service, and may make no demands that substantially interfere with juror service (§ 13-71-134(1)). No fixed day count is set |
| Employer-paid wages | Yes — a mandatory-pay state. Regularly employed trial or grand jurors receive regular wages, capped at $50 per day (more only by mutual agreement), from their employer for the first three days of service or any part of them (§ 13-71-126). After day three, no employer-pay requirement |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | The first-three-days pay is the employee's regular wages, not a charge against PTO. Article 71 does not address forcing an employee to use vacation, sick, or personal leave, and does not offset employer wages by the court's juror fee. If the employer is excused for hardship, the state pays up to $50/day in lieu of wages (§ 13-71-127) |
| Employee notice and proof | The employer's pay duty is triggered by its receipt ('tender') of the juror service acknowledgment information the jury commissioner provides (§ 13-71-133); an employer seeking a hardship excusal must request a court hearing in writing to the jury commissioner (§ 13-71-127). No separate employee advance-notice deadline is set |
| Scheduling and return-to-work rules | No specific shift or rest rule; the general limit is that an employer 'shall make no demands upon any employed juror which will substantially interfere with the effective performance of juror service' (§ 13-71-134(1)) |
| Job protection and remedies | A harassed or fired juror may bring a civil action for damages, injunctive relief, or both, tried to the court without a jury; the court may award treble damages and reasonable attorney fees for willful misconduct (§ 13-71-134(1)). Willful violation is a class 2 misdemeanor (§ 13-71-134(2)). Unpaid wages are separately enforceable: the juror may sue if not paid within 30 days of the acknowledgment tender, hardship is no defense, and treble damages and attorney fees are available for willful misconduct (§ 13-71-133) |
Employer pay for the first three days
Colorado is unusual: it puts the cost of short jury service on the employer, not the court. Under § 13-71-126, "all regularly employed trial or grand jurors shall be paid regular wages, but not to exceed fifty dollars per day" by their employers "for the first three days of juror service or any part thereof." The $50 cap is a floor the parties can raise by mutual agreement, not a ceiling on generosity.
Two features matter. First, the duty covers the first three days or any part of them, so even a half-day appearance during those first three days is paid. Second, "regularly employed" is defined broadly: it "shall include part-time, temporary, and casual employment if the employment hours may be determined by a schedule, custom, or practice established during the three-month period preceding the juror's term of service." A part-time worker with a predictable schedule is covered, not just full-time staff.
After the third day, the employer-pay requirement ends. Longer service is unpaid by the employer unless a policy or agreement says otherwise.
When an employer can be excused
Section 13-71-127 lets a court "excuse an employer or a self-employed juror from the duty of compensation" on a finding of financial hardship. When that happens, the juror instead "receive[s] reasonable compensation in lieu of wages from the state for the first three days," again capped at $50 per day, so the employee is not left unpaid.
The excusal runs on a tight clock. The employer must request the hearing in writing to the jury commissioner, and a hardship hearing "shall occur no later than thirty days after the tender of the juror service acknowledgment information to the employer."
Job protection and anti-harassment
Separate from pay, § 13-71-134(1) protects the job. An employer "shall not deprive an employed juror of employment or any incidents or benefits thereof, nor shall an employer harass, threaten, or coerce an employee" for receiving a summons, responding, performing juror service, or exercising any right under Article 71. The same subsection bars an employer from making "demands upon any employed juror which will substantially interfere with the effective performance of juror service" — Colorado's version of a scheduling protection, framed as a no-interference standard rather than a fixed shift rule.
Enforcement and penalties
Colorado backs both duties with real teeth. For harassment or firing, the juror "may commence a civil action for such damages or injunctive relief or both," and "the court may award treble damages and reasonable attorney fees" on a finding of willful misconduct; the trial is to the court without a jury (§ 13-71-134(1)). A willful violation is also a class 2 misdemeanor (§ 13-71-134(2)).
Unpaid wages have their own remedy. Under § 13-71-133, an employer who fails to pay and was not excused "shall be liable to the employed juror," and if the juror is not paid within 30 days after the acknowledgment is tendered, the juror "may commence a civil action." Extreme financial hardship "shall not be a defense" to that suit, and treble damages and attorney fees are again available for willful misconduct.
What trips people up
The pay obligation is narrow in time even though it is real. It is the first three days only, and the employer's share is capped at $50 per day. Employees on a long trial should not expect employer wages past day three unless their employer's policy provides them.
The duty is tied to paperwork. The employer's obligation and the hardship clock both run from the "tender of the juror service acknowledgment information," the document the jury commissioner generates — so getting that acknowledgment to the employer is what starts the timeline.
These rules govern Colorado state jury service under Article 71. A Colorado resident summoned to federal court relies on separate federal protections, not §§ 13-71-126 to 13-71-134.
Common questions
Does my Colorado employer have to pay me for jury duty?
Yes, for the first three days. A regularly employed trial or grand juror gets regular wages up to $50 per day for the first three days of service or any part of them (§ 13-71-126). After that, employer pay is not required.
I work part-time — am I covered?
Likely yes. "Regularly employed" expressly includes part-time, temporary, and casual work if your hours can be determined by a schedule, custom, or practice in the three months before service.
What if paying me would hurt my small employer?
The employer can ask a court to be excused for financial hardship. If excused, the state pays you up to $50 per day for the first three days instead (§ 13-71-127).
What can I do if I'm fired or harassed for jury duty?
You may sue for damages or an injunction, and the court can award treble damages and attorney fees for willful misconduct (§ 13-71-134(1)); willful harassment is also a class 2 misdemeanor. Unpaid wages have a separate action under § 13-71-133.
Statutes and sources
- Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-71-126 (Compensation of employed jurors during first three days): the up-to-$50-per-day employer-pay rule and the broad "regularly employed" definition — CDLE jury-duty page (accessed July 13, 2026).
- Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-71-127 (Financial hardship): court excusal of the employer and state-paid compensation in lieu of wages — Colorado Judicial Branch (accessed July 13, 2026).
- Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-71-133 (Enforcement of employer's duty to compensate): the unpaid-wage civil action, no-hardship-defense rule, and treble damages/attorney fees — Colorado Judicial Branch (accessed July 13, 2026).
- Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-71-134 (Penalties and enforcement remedies for harassment by employer): the job-protection bar, civil action, treble damages/attorney fees, and class 2 misdemeanor — current text (accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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