Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in Missouri

At a glance

Protection begins with the summons

Missouri prohibits termination, discipline, threats, or other adverse action because an employee received or responded to a jury summons. The section does not state a fixed advance-notice deadline or require the employee to hand the employer a copy of the summons or an attendance certificate.

The statute protects the employment relationship but does not contain a separate sentence affirmatively ordering a particular number of leave days. Its no-forced-leave subsection nevertheless expressly reaches time spent responding to the summons, participating in jury selection, and actually serving on a jury.

Listed leave balances cannot be forced

An employer may not require or request that an employee use annual, vacation, personal, or sick leave for covered jury time. The statute also says this rule does not require an employer to create any of those benefits for an employee who is not otherwise entitled to them under company policy.

Section 494.460 does not require wage continuation and does not coordinate employer wages with court-paid juror fees. Jury-duty time is therefore generally unpaid unless an employer policy, agreement, or another applicable rule supplies pay.

Very small employers receive court scheduling relief

When an employer has five or fewer full-time employees, or their equivalent, and one employee was already summoned for a period that overlaps another employee's summons, the court must automatically postpone and reschedule the second service. The postponement does not consume the individual's separate automatic-postponement right under § 494.432.

That mechanism changes the court date; it is not an exemption from the employment protections. Missouri states no general night-shift rest period or same-day return-to-work requirement in § 494.460.

A discharge starts a short filing clock

An employee discharged in violation of the section may bring a civil action within 90 days of discharge. The express remedies are lost wages, other damages caused by the violation, and an order directing reinstatement. A prevailing employee is entitled to a reasonable attorney's fee under § 494.460.2.

The prohibited-conduct language is broader than the express civil-remedy sentence: subsection 1 also names discipline, threats, and adverse actions, while subsection 2 specifically describes an employee who was discharged.

What trips people up

Missouri's ban on forced leave does not make jury duty paid. It preserves the listed balances and expressly declines to require employers to provide those benefits; it does not require regular wage continuation.

The five-employee provision likewise does not let an employer refuse the absence. It requires the court to separate overlapping jury-service periods.

Common questions

Must a Missouri employer pay wages during jury duty?

No general wage-continuation requirement appears in § 494.460. An employer policy or agreement may provide paid jury leave.

Can the employer make the employee use PTO?

Not the categories named in the statute: annual, vacation, personal, or sick leave may not be required or requested for summons response, selection, or service.

Does the employee have to provide a copy of the summons?

Section 494.460 states no summons-copy or attendance-proof requirement and no fixed notice period.

How long does a fired employee have to sue?

Ninety days from discharge under the express statutory civil action.

Statutes and sources

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 494.460.1-.4: job protection, 90-day civil remedy, no-forced-leave rule, and small-employer rescheduling — official text (accessed August 16, 2026).