Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in Maryland

At a glance

The job protection

Maryland's jury-leave rules sit in two short sections of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article. Section 8-501(a) is the core protection: an employer "may not deprive an individual of employment or coerce, intimidate, or threaten to discharge an individual" because the individual loses work time responding to a jury summons or attending — or being in proximity to — a circuit court for jury service, or because the individual exercises the right to refrain from work on a jury day under subsection (b).

The protected conduct is specific to Maryland's own jury system: the summons and the "circuit court for jury service" are both "under this title," meaning Title 8 of the Courts Article. These sections do not, by their terms, cover federal jury service; a federal juror relies on separate federal law.

The evening and early-morning shift rule

Section 8-501(b) adds a scheduling protection many states lack. If you are summoned and appear for jury service for 4 or more hours, including travel time, your employer may not require you to work a shift that begins:

• on or after 5 p.m. on the day you appeared, or
• before 3 a.m. the following day.

For example, an employee who spends five hours at the courthouse (travel included) cannot be ordered onto that evening's 6 p.m. shift, and cannot be made to start a 2 a.m. shift the next morning. The 4-hour threshold is the trigger; a brief appearance that does not reach four hours falls outside this rule.

No forced use of your leave

Section 8-502(a) separately provides that an employer "may not require an employee to use the employee's annual, sick, or vacation leave to respond to a summons under this title for jury service." An employer cannot make you spend your PTO to cover jury days. You may choose to use paid leave, but the choice is yours, not the employer's to compel.

Pay and what the statute leaves out

Neither section requires the employer to pay wages during jury service. The Maryland Judiciary states plainly that "the law does not require you to pay your employee for the time he or she is on jury service," while noting many employers pay voluntarily. The court pays jurors a separate fee, which is not wages.

The sections set no advance-notice deadline and give the employer no statutory right to demand documents, though as a practical matter the Jury Office can issue a certificate showing the days you served. Everything the statute does not address — the amount of any pay, notice timing, and day-to-day handling of a long trial — is left to the employer's own policy.

What trips people up

The statutory penalty is a fine, not a paycheck. A violation of either section makes the employer "subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000." Sections 8-501 and 8-502 do not, on their own, spell out a private lawsuit for lost wages or reinstatement, so an employee harmed by a violation should get legal advice about what remedies actually apply to their situation.

The shift rule depends on the 4-hour threshold, counting travel time. Employees sometimes assume any jury appearance frees the whole surrounding day; the protection against a late-evening or pre-dawn shift only kicks in once the appearance (with travel) reaches four hours.

The protections track Maryland circuit-court service. Because both sections are written "under this title," they are aimed at Maryland state jury service, not federal jury duty.

Common questions

Can my Maryland employer make me use vacation or sick days for jury duty?

No. Section 8-502(a) bars an employer from requiring you to use annual, sick, or vacation leave to respond to a jury summons. You may elect to use paid leave, but you cannot be forced to.

Do I have to work my night shift after a day at the courthouse?

Not if you were summoned and appeared for 4 or more hours, including travel. Then your employer cannot require a shift starting at or after 5 p.m. that day, or before 3 a.m. the next day (§ 8-501(b)).

Does my employer have to pay me for jury service?

No Maryland statute requires it. The court pays a separate juror fee, and many employers choose to pay, but pay is not mandatory.

What happens if my employer fires me for jury duty?

That is prohibited under § 8-501(a), and the employer is subject to a fine up to $1,000. Because the section does not spell out a private damages remedy, consult a lawyer about pursuing reinstatement or lost wages.

Statutes and sources

• Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 8-501 (Employment loss): the discharge/coercion bar, the 4-hour evening/early-morning shift rule, and the $1,000 fine — official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
• Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 8-502 (Leave): the bar on forcing use of annual, sick, or vacation leave, and the $1,000 fine — official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
• Maryland Judiciary, Your Employees and Jury Service: official confirmation that jury-service pay is not required and that the Jury Office can certify days served — View official text (mdcourts.gov) (accessed July 13, 2026).