Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in Maine

At a glance

Protected job, protected health insurance, unpaid time

Maine's rule for employees called to jury service is 14 M.R.S. § 1218. An employer may not deprive an employee of employment because the employee receives a summons, responds to it, serves as a juror, or attends court for prospective jury service. The section reaches every stage of the process, from the summons through actual service.

What sets Maine apart from most states is that § 1218 protects health insurance coverage alongside the job. An employer may not terminate the employee's health insurance — or threaten or coerce the employee about losing either the job or the coverage — because of jury service. That extra protection matters most for hourly and lower-wage workers whose coverage might otherwise be at risk during an unpaid absence.

What the section does not do is require the employer to pay wages. Maine is a protected-but-unpaid state. An employer policy or union contract may provide paid jury leave, but the statute does not command it.

PTO, notice, and scheduling

Section 1218 does not let an employer force an employee to use vacation, personal, or sick leave for the jury days, and it does not address crediting the court's juror fee against any wages the employer chooses to pay. Those choices are left to the employer's policy.

The section also sets no advance-notice deadline, requires no particular written notice, and does not spell out a right to produce a copy of the summons. It contains no rule about shift rest, release time, or long trials. As a practical matter, an employee should still tell the employer promptly and keep the summons, because notifying the employer is what triggers the protection in the first place.

Enforcement

Section 1218 carries unusually firm consequences. A violation is a Class E crime, Maine's lowest criminal grade but a criminal offense nonetheless. Separately, an employee who is discharged — or whose health insurance is terminated — in violation of the section may bring a civil action within 90 days to recover lost wages or health-insurance benefits and to obtain reinstatement. Wage damages are capped at six weeks of lost wages, and a prevailing employee is entitled to a reasonable attorney's fee set by the court.

What trips people up

The strongest features of Maine's statute are the health-insurance protection and the criminal penalty, not pay. The employer must keep the job and the coverage available, but it does not have to keep issuing a paycheck during service.

The civil deadline is short. An employee who is fired over jury service has only 90 days to sue under this section, and the recoverable wage loss is limited to six weeks. Waiting past the 90-day window can forfeit the § 1218 claim, so an affected employee should act quickly rather than assume there is a long limitations period.

Common questions

Can a Maine employer fire me for serving on a jury?

No. Depriving an employee of employment because of a summons, prospective-jury attendance, or actual service violates § 1218 and is a Class E crime.

Can my employer cancel my health insurance while I serve?

No. Section 1218 specifically bars terminating an employee's health insurance coverage because of jury service.

Does my employer have to pay me?

Not under this statute. Maine does not require wage continuation for jury service, though an employer may choose to pay.

How long do I have to sue if I am fired?

Ninety days from the discharge. The court may order reinstatement and up to six weeks of lost wages, plus a reasonable attorney's fee if you prevail.

Statutes and sources

• 14 M.R.S. § 1218: bars depriving an employee of employment or health insurance because of jury service, makes a violation a Class E crime, and provides a 90-day civil action for reinstatement and up to six weeks' lost wages with attorney's fees — Maine Legislature official statute text (accessed July 13, 2026); cross-checked against the Justia 2025 Maine Revised Statutes mirror.