Minnesota: Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements
The short answer
Minnesota protects employees who receive or respond to a summons, attend court as prospective jurors, or serve as jurors. The employer must release the employee from the regular schedule, including shift work, and cannot require an alternative shift on a courthouse-reporting day, but the statute does not generally require employer-paid wages or address compelled PTO use. Violations can be criminal contempt, and a discharged employee has 30 days to sue for reinstatement and up to six weeks of lost wages.
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This is the general rule in Minnesota. Ezel applies current Minnesota law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Minn. Stat. § 593.50 |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Receiving or responding to a summons, attending court for prospective jury service, and serving as a juror (§ 593.50, subd. 1) |
| Employers and employees covered | Employers and employees generally; no employer-size, tenure, full-time, or permanent-worker limit stated (§ 593.50) |
| Time-off entitlement | Employer must release employee from the regular work schedule, including shift work, to attend court for prospective jury service (§ 593.50, subd. 1) |
| Employer-paid wages | No general employer wage-continuation requirement stated in § 593.50; civil damages replace lost wages after an unlawful discharge but do not make ordinary jury leave paid |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | No express rule on required or voluntary use of vacation, sick leave, or other PTO, and no employer offset for juror fees stated in § 593.50 |
| Employee notice and proof | No employee notice deadline, summons-copy requirement, or attendance-proof rule stated in § 593.50 |
| Scheduling and return-to-work rules | Employer cannot require an alternative shift on any day employee must report to courthouse. Employee may voluntarily request another schedule only if employer does not encourage, prompt, or ask for request (§ 593.50, subd. 1) |
| Job protection and remedies | No deprivation of employment, threats, or coercion over employment status for covered jury activity. Violation is criminal contempt punishable by up to $700, six months, or both. Discharged employee has 30 days to sue for reinstatement and up to six weeks' lost wages; prevailing employee receives reasonable attorney's fee (§ 593.50, subds. 1-3) |
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Release from the regular schedule
Minnesota protects an employee who receives or responds to a jury summons,
serves as a juror, or attends court for prospective jury service. The employer
must release the employee from the regular work schedule, expressly including
shift work, so the employee can attend court.
The section does not impose an employer-size, tenure, or full-time gate. It also
states no fixed employee notice period and no requirement to provide a summons
copy or attendance certificate.
No forced alternative shift on a reporting day
An employer may not require an employee to work an alternative shift on any day
the employee must report to the courthouse for jury service. The employee may
voluntarily request a different schedule that day, but only if the employer does
not encourage, prompt, or ask the employee to make the request.
That distinction matters in practice: an employer cannot turn a prohibited
assignment into a nominally voluntary choice by suggesting it.
Pay and PTO are not addressed
Section 593.50 does not generally require wage continuation during jury service.
It also does not say whether an employer may require or an employee may elect
to use vacation, sick leave, or another PTO balance, and it does not coordinate
employer wages with court-paid juror fees.
The lost-wage remedy after an unlawful discharge is different from wages owed
for an ordinary protected absence.
Criminal contempt and a 30-day civil action
An employer that violates the protection is guilty of criminal contempt and,
upon conviction, may be fined up to $700, imprisoned for up to six months, or
both.
If the employer discharges the employee, the employee has 30 days to bring the
express civil action. The court may order reinstatement and award lost wages,
but recoverable wage damages may not exceed six weeks. A prevailing employee
is allowed a reasonable attorney's fee fixed by the court.
What trips people up
Minnesota's scheduling protection reaches more than the hours actually spent
inside the courthouse. The employer must release the regular schedule,
including shift work, and cannot assign an alternative shift on a required
reporting day.
The civil filing period is unusually short: 30 days. The six-week limit applies
to recoverable lost-wage damages, not to the duration of protected jury service.
Common questions
Must a Minnesota employer pay wages during jury duty?
No general wage-continuation duty appears in § 593.50. An employer policy or
agreement may provide paid jury leave.
Can the employer schedule a different shift after court?
Not on a day the employee is required to report to the courthouse. The employee
may voluntarily request an alternative schedule if the employer did not prompt
or ask for the request.
Does the statute require advance notice or proof?
Section 593.50 states no fixed notice deadline, summons-copy requirement, or
attendance-proof requirement.
How long does a fired employee have to sue?
Thirty days under the express civil-action provision.
Statutes and sources
- Minn. Stat. § 593.50, subds. 1-3: protected jury activity, schedule release,
alternative-shift rule, criminal contempt, and civil remedies —
official text
(accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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