Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in Louisiana
At a glance
| Governing law | La. R.S. 23:965 |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Job protection covers employee called to or serving any jury duty; discharge-policy text names grand juries and civil or criminal trial juries. One-day paid leave is limited to call or subpoena for a Louisiana state petit or grand jury or central jury pool (R.S. 23:965(A)(1), (B)(1)) |
| Employers and employees covered | Employers and employees generally for job protection; paid-leave rule covers a person regularly employed in Louisiana. No employer-size threshold stated (R.S. 23:965) |
| Time-off entitlement | Regularly employed person called or subpoenaed for covered state service must receive leave for the time required, up to one day. Broader subsection separately protects called and serving employees from adverse action without cause (R.S. 23:965(A)(1), (B)(1)) |
| Employer-paid wages | Covered state-jury leave is without loss of wages for up to one day; violating employer must pay claimant full wages for one day (R.S. 23:965(B)) |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | Covered one-day leave cannot reduce sick, emergency, or personal leave or any other benefit. Vacation leave and employer treatment of juror fees are not separately stated (R.S. 23:965(B)) |
| Employee notice and proof | For job protection, employee must notify employer of summons within a reasonable period after receipt and before appearing for jury duty; no particular form or summons-copy requirement stated (R.S. 23:965(A)(1)) |
| Scheduling and return-to-work rules | No night-shift rest window, same-day return requirement, or long-trial scheduling rule stated in R.S. 23:965; affirmative paid-leave entitlement is capped at one day |
| Job protection and remedies | No discharge or adverse employment action without cause for covered jury activity, and no discharge policy. Discharged employee must be reinstated on same terms; employer fined $100-$1,000 per discharged employee. One-day leave/pay violation requires full wages and $100-$500 fine per offense (R.S. 23:965(A)-(B)) |
One paid day for specified state jury service
A person regularly employed in Louisiana who is called or subpoenaed to serve on a state petit jury, state grand jury, or central jury pool must receive leave for the time required, up to one day. The leave is without loss of wages.
If an employer violates that rule, the employer must pay the claimant the full wages for one day of the period required for jury duty. The statute also states a fine of $100 to $500 for each offense.
Leave benefits remain intact
The covered one-day absence may not reduce sick, emergency, or personal leave or any other benefit. Section 23:965 does not separately name vacation leave or state how an employer should treat a court-paid juror fee.
Notice and broader job protection
The job-protection subsection reaches an employee called to serve or presently serving any jury duty. It prohibits discharge or another adverse employment action without cause and bars an employer rule, regulation, or policy providing for discharge because an employee was called to or is serving on a grand jury or a jury in a civil or criminal trial.
That protection has a notice condition. The employee must notify the employer of the summons within a reasonable period after receiving it and before appearing for jury duty. The section states no required notice form and no summons-copy or attendance-certificate procedure.
Reinstatement and fines
An employer violating the job-protection subsection must reinstate a discharged employee to the same employment, wages, salary, benefits, and other conditions the employee had before discharge. The employer must also be fined $100 to $1,000 for each discharged employee.
The section does not state an attorney-fee award, special filing deadline, or a separate damages formula for an adverse action short of discharge.
What trips people up
The affirmative paid-leave right is only one day and is expressly limited to a Louisiana state petit jury, grand jury, or central jury pool. The job-protection language is broader, covering an employee called to or serving any jury duty.
The one-day limit does not authorize discharge after the paid day ends. The separate adverse-action subsection continues to matter, but the employee must have given the reasonable pre-appearance notice it requires.
Common questions
How much paid jury leave does Louisiana require?
Up to one day for a person regularly employed in Louisiana who is called or subpoenaed for the specified state jury service.
Can the employer deduct sick or personal leave for that day?
No. The statute protects sick, emergency, and personal leave, along with any other benefit, during the covered one-day absence.
When must the employee notify the employer?
Within a reasonable period after receiving the summons and before appearing for jury duty to satisfy the job-protection subsection.
What happens after an unlawful discharge?
The employer must reinstate the employee on the same employment terms and is subject to a $100-to-$1,000 fine for that discharged employee.
Statutes and sources
- La. R.S. 23:965(A)-(B): covered service, reasonable notice, adverse-action protection, one-day paid leave, protected benefits, reinstatement, and fines — official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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