Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in North Dakota
At a glance
| Governing law | N.D.C.C. § 27-09.1-17 (protection of jurors' and witnesses' employment) |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Receiving a summons or subpoena, responding, serving as a juror or witness, or attending court for jury service or to give testimony (§ 27-09.1-17(1)); witness service shares the section but is outside this survey |
| Employers and employees covered | Written as a flat duty of any 'employer' toward any 'employee'; the section states no employer-size, tenure, or full-time gate |
| Time-off entitlement | Employer may not deprive an employee of employment, lay off, penalize, threaten, or otherwise coerce the employee because of the covered jury service (§ 27-09.1-17(1)); the absence is protected |
| Employer-paid wages | None. Section 27-09.1-17 contains no wage-continuation requirement; North Dakota does not require a private employer to pay wages for jury service |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | The section does not authorize compelling use of vacation, sick, or other paid leave and does not address offsetting court juror fees against wages |
| Employee notice and proof | The section imposes no express advance-notice period, written-notice form, or summons-copy requirement on the employee |
| Scheduling and return-to-work rules | No shift-rest window, minimum-release period, same-day-return limit, or long-trial rule appears in § 27-09.1-17 |
| Job protection and remedies | A violation is a class B misdemeanor (§ 27-09.1-17(2)); an employee discharged in violation may bring a civil action within 90 days for lost wages and reinstatement, with recoverable damages capped at lost wages for six weeks, plus a reasonable attorney's fee if the employee prevails (§ 27-09.1-17(3)) |
Protected job, no required pay
North Dakota puts its jury and witness employment protection in one statute, N.D.C.C. § 27-09.1-17. An employer may not deprive an employee of employment, lay the employee off, or penalize, threaten, or otherwise coerce the employee because the employee receives a summons, responds to it, serves as a juror (or witness), or attends court for jury service. The list of prohibited employer actions is broad, reaching a layoff and coercion, not just an outright firing.
The statute does not require pay. North Dakota is a protected-but-unpaid state: an employer may keep paying wages voluntarily or under a policy, but § 27-09.1-17 does not command wage continuation.
Remedies, including a six-week damages cap
A violation is a class B misdemeanor (§ 27-09.1-17(2)). Separately, an employee who is discharged in violation may bring a civil action within 90 days for lost wages and an order of reinstatement. North Dakota caps the recoverable damages: they "may not exceed lost wages for six weeks." A prevailing employee is allowed a reasonable attorney's fee set by the court (§ 27-09.1-17(3)).
That six-week ceiling is the feature to notice. Even where a discharge clearly violated the statute, the lost-wage recovery is limited, with reinstatement and attorney fees doing much of the practical work.
PTO, notice, and scheduling are not addressed
Section 27-09.1-17 does not say whether an employee may use vacation or sick leave, and it does not let an employer force use of paid time off. It sets no advance-notice deadline and does not require the employee to produce a copy of the summons, and it contains no rule about shift rest, release time, or long trials. Those gaps are filled by the employer's own policy.
What trips people up
The 90-day window to sue is short and runs from the discharge. An employee fired for jury service should not wait to act.
The damages cap is easy to miss. "Lost wages" recovery is limited to six weeks, so the statute is not a route to open-ended back pay; its strength is the criminal penalty, reinstatement, and fee recovery.
Common questions
Can a North Dakota employer fire me for jury duty?
No. The employer may not deprive you of employment, lay you off, or penalize, threaten, or coerce you for a summons, response, service, or attendance.
Will I be paid during jury service?
Not by force of this statute. North Dakota does not require a private employer to pay wages for jury service, though an employer may choose to.
How much can I recover if I am fired for serving?
Lost wages, but capped at six weeks, plus reinstatement and reasonable attorney fees if you prevail. You must sue within 90 days of the discharge.
Does this cover witnesses too?
The section also protects witnesses and subpoenaed testimony, but this survey compares jurors; separate rules govern witness and subpoena leave.
Statutes and sources
- N.D.C.C. § 27-09.1-17: protection of jurors' (and witnesses') employment, the class B misdemeanor penalty, and the 90-day civil action with a six-week lost-wage cap and attorney fees — official North Dakota Century Code chapter PDF (accessed July 13, 2026); text cross-checked against FindLaw and the Justia 2025 North Dakota Century Code.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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