Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in Indiana
At a glance
| Governing law | Ind. Code §§ 33-28-5-24.3, 35-44.1-2-11, and 34-28-4-1 |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Receiving or responding to a jury summons, participating in jury selection/attending court as a prospective juror, and serving as a juror; the employment provisions do not expressly limit protection to a named court system (§§ 33-28-5-24.3(a)-(b), 35-44.1-2-11) |
| Employers and employees covered | Employees and their employers; no employer-size, tenure, full-time, or permanent-worker exclusion from the employment protections. A separate court-rescheduling rule applies when an employer has no more than 10 full-time employees or equivalent (§ 33-28-5-24.3(c)) |
| Time-off entitlement | No stand-alone affirmative leave sentence, but employer may not take adverse employment action resulting from jury service after timely notice, and criminal law protects summons receipt/response, prospective attendance, and service (§§ 33-28-5-24.3(a), 35-44.1-2-11) |
| Employer-paid wages | No general employer wage-continuation requirement stated in §§ 33-28-5-24.3 or 35-44.1-2-11; protection is job-protected but generally unpaid unless employer policy provides pay |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | Employer may not require or request use of annual, vacation, or sick leave; statute does not address other PTO categories or employer offsets for juror fees (§ 33-28-5-24.3(b)) |
| Employee notice and proof | Employee must notify employer within a reasonable period after receiving the summons and before appearing for jury service; no summons-copy or attendance-certificate requirement stated (§ 33-28-5-24.3(a)) |
| Scheduling and return-to-work rules | If an employer has no more than 10 full-time employees or equivalent and another employee is already serving, the court must reschedule the prospective juror after notice of the overlap. No night-shift or same-day return rule stated (§ 33-28-5-24.3(c)) |
| Job protection and remedies | Adverse employment action prohibited after timely notice; knowing or intentional dismissal, benefit deprivation, or threat is a Class B misdemeanor. Dismissed employee may sue within 90 days for lost wages and reinstatement, with mandatory reasonable attorney's fee after judgment (§§ 33-28-5-24.3(a), 35-44.1-2-11, 34-28-4-1) |
Reasonable notice protects the absence
Indiana ties the principal employment protection to notice. The employee must notify the employer of the summons within a reasonable period after receiving it and before appearing for jury service. Once that condition is met, the employer may not subject the employee to adverse employment action resulting from jury service.
The section does not use a fixed day count and does not require the employee to provide a copy of the summons or an attendance certificate. Prompt notice that falls between receipt and the court appearance is the statutory test.
Annual, vacation, and sick leave cannot be forced
Section 33-28-5-24.3(b) says an employee may not be required or requested to use annual leave, vacation leave, or sick leave while responding to a summons, participating in jury selection, or serving on a jury. The same subsection clarifies that an employer need not create those benefits for an employee who does not otherwise have them.
The governing provisions do not require an employer to continue wages and do not address an offset for court-paid juror fees. Jury leave is therefore generally unpaid unless an employer policy, agreement, or another applicable rule provides pay.
Small-employer overlap is rescheduled by the court
An employer with no more than ten full-time employees, or their equivalent, receives a scheduling accommodation rather than an exemption from employee protection. If one employee is already performing jury service and another is called, the court must reschedule the prospective juror when either affected employee notifies the court that they work for the same employer.
Indiana states no general night-shift rest period or same-day return-to-work deadline in these provisions.
Criminal and civil consequences differ
Knowingly or intentionally dismissing an employee, depriving the employee of employment benefits, or threatening either action because of a summons, prospective attendance, or jury service is interference with jury service, a Class B misdemeanor under § 35-44.1-2-11.
The express civil remedy is narrower. It applies to a person actually dismissed in violation of that criminal section. The employee must sue within 90 days of dismissal and may seek lost wages and reinstatement. If the employee obtains a judgment, the court must award a reasonable attorney's fee to the employee's attorney.
What trips people up
The ten-employee rule does not let a small employer deny jury leave. It directs the court to move the second employee's service so the two periods do not overlap.
The civil remedy also should not be described as covering every prohibited action. Section 34-28-4-1 expressly addresses dismissal, while the criminal section additionally reaches deprivation of employment benefits and threats.
Common questions
Must an Indiana employer pay wages during jury duty?
No general wage-continuation duty appears in the governing provisions. An employer policy or agreement may provide paid jury leave.
Can the employer make the employee use vacation or sick leave?
No. The employer may not require or request annual, vacation, or sick leave for responding to a summons, jury selection, or service.
How much notice is required?
Notice within a reasonable period after receiving the summons and before the employee appears for jury service. The statute sets no fixed number of days.
What is the deadline to sue after a jury-duty firing?
Ninety days from the dismissal for the express statutory action seeking lost wages and reinstatement.
Statutes and sources
- Ind. Code § 33-28-5-24.3(a)-(c): notice, adverse-action protection, no-forced-leave rule, and small-employer rescheduling — official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
- Ind. Code § 35-44.1-2-11: dismissal, benefit deprivation, threats, and Class B misdemeanor classification — official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
- Ind. Code § 34-28-4-1: 90-day civil action, lost wages, reinstatement, and attorney's fees — official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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