Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in Michigan
At a glance
| Governing law | Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.1348 (employment protection and daily-hours rule for jurors) |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Being summoned for jury duty, serving on a jury, and having served on a jury (§ 600.1348(1)); the text does not limit the protection to selection or service in a named court system |
| Employers and employees covered | An employer or the employer's agent may not take the prohibited actions against a person; § 600.1348 states no employer-size, tenure, industry, schedule, or worker-classification gate |
| Time-off entitlement | No threats of discharge or discipline and no discharge or discipline because the person was summoned, serves, or served; the daily-hours rule prevents required work from being stacked onto jury duty beyond the statutory limits (§ 600.1348(1)-(2)) |
| Employer-paid wages | No general private-employer wage-continuation requirement stated in § 600.1348; the statute protects employment and limits required hours but does not require wages for jury time |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | No express rule on compelled or voluntary vacation, sick leave, or other PTO, and no employer-wage offset rule for court-paid juror compensation stated in § 600.1348 |
| Employee notice and proof | No employee-to-employer notice deadline, written-notice form, summons-copy duty, attendance-certificate rule, or other proof requirement stated in § 600.1348 |
| Scheduling and return-to-work rules | On a jury-duty day, required work hours plus jury-duty hours may not exceed the person's normal and customary daily hours; required work also may not extend beyond the normal quitting time unless the person voluntarily agrees or a collective-bargaining agreement provides otherwise (§ 600.1348(2)) |
| Job protection and remedies | Threatening, discharging, or disciplining a person because of summons, current service, or past service is a misdemeanor and may also be punished as contempt; violating the daily-hours rule has the same consequences (§ 600.1348(1)-(2)). The section states no jury-specific private damages, reinstatement, attorney's-fee, or administrative remedy |
Protection before, during, and after service
Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.1348(1) reaches three stages: being summoned for jury duty, serving on a jury, and having served. An employer or its agent may not threaten discharge or discipline, actually discharge or discipline the person, or cause either action because of that jury activity.
The text states no employer-size, industry, tenure, work-schedule, or worker- classification threshold. It also does not confine its wording to a named Michigan court or distinguish trial and grand juries.
The jury-day hours limit
Section 600.1348(2) does more than protect the job. On a day when the person has jury duty, the employer may not require work hours that, when added to the jury- duty hours, exceed the person's normal and customary daily hours. Required work also may not extend beyond the person's normal and customary quitting time unless the person voluntarily agrees or a collective-bargaining agreement provides otherwise.
That is a daily-hours and quitting-time rule, not an automatic right to remain off work for every part of a jury-duty day. Its application depends on the employee's normal day, the jury hours, voluntary agreement, and any governing collective-bargaining provision.
Employer pay, PTO, and notice
Section 600.1348 states no general duty for a private employer to continue wages during jury service. Court-paid juror compensation is separate from employer wages, and the employment section states no rule allowing or barring an offset.
The section also does not expressly address required or voluntary use of vacation, sick leave, or other PTO. It supplies no employee notice deadline, written-notice form, summons-copy requirement, attendance-certificate rule, or other proof requirement.
Misdemeanor and contempt consequences
An employer or agent that violates either the anti-retaliation rule or the daily-hours rule is guilty of a misdemeanor and may also be punished for contempt of court. Section 600.1348 does not itself create a jury-specific employee action for damages, reinstatement, attorney's fees, or an administrative complaint.
What trips people up
Michigan protects past service as well as a current summons or current service. Disciplining someone after the jury has ended can still fall within the text.
The scheduling protection is measured against the person's normal and customary hours and quitting time. It is not phrased as a fixed number of rest hours before or after court, and the beyond-quitting-time restriction contains voluntary-agreement and collective-bargaining qualifications.
Common questions
Must a Michigan employer pay wages during jury duty?
Section 600.1348 states no general private-employer wage-continuation duty. An employer policy or collective-bargaining agreement may provide paid jury leave.
Can an employer require a full shift after jury duty?
Not if the required work plus jury time exceeds the person's normal daily hours. Required work generally also cannot extend beyond the customary quitting time unless voluntarily agreed or provided by a collective-bargaining agreement.
Can the employer require PTO?
Section 600.1348 does not expressly answer that question. It states no rule for vacation, sick leave, or other paid time.
What happens if an employer violates the statute?
The employer or agent is guilty of a misdemeanor and may also be punished for contempt of court.
Statutes and sources
- Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.1348(1)-(2): summons, current-service and past-service protection; jury-day hours and quitting-time limits; misdemeanor and contempt consequences — official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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