Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in Oregon
At a glance
| Governing law | ORS 10.061(3), 10.090, 10.092, and 659A.885 |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Responding to a summons; scheduled or completed service on a grand jury, trial jury, or jury of inquest. ORS chapter 10 defines juror to include a prospective juror (ORS 10.010(2), 10.090) |
| Employers and employees covered | All employers for unpaid leave, no-forced-leave, and anti-retaliation rules; insurance-continuation rule applies to employers with 10 or more persons when employee elects continuation and gives policy-compliant notice (ORS 10.090, 10.092(1)) |
| Time-off entitlement | Employer must allow leave without pay for time spent responding to a jury-duty summons (ORS 10.090(2)) |
| Employer-paid wages | No general employer wage-continuation duty; statute preserves employer policies and agreements concerning wages during scheduled or actual jury service (ORS 10.090(3)) |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | Employer cannot require vacation, sick, or annual leave for summons response. Unless employment agreement provides otherwise, juror paid wages or salary for court-attendance days must waive juror fee; mileage claim unaffected (ORS 10.061(3), 10.090(2)) |
| Employee notice and proof | No general employee notice deadline or summons-copy rule in ORS 10.090. For insurance continuation at 10+ employer, employee must elect coverage and notify employer under employer's notification policy (ORS 10.092(1)(b)) |
| Scheduling and return-to-work rules | No night-shift rest window, same-day return requirement, or employer long-trial scheduling rule stated in ORS 10.090 |
| Job protection and remedies | Discharge, threatened discharge, intimidation, or coercion over scheduled or completed covered service is unlawful employment practice. Employee may complain to BOLI or sue; court may grant equitable relief including reinstatement/back pay, costs and reasonable fees, plus $720 civil penalty. Insurance violations have same routes (ORS 10.090, 10.092, 659A.885) |
Unpaid leave without forced vacation or sick time
An Oregon employer must allow an employee to take leave without pay for time spent responding to a jury-duty summons. The employer may not require the employee to use vacation leave, sick leave, or annual leave for that time.
The statute preserves an employer's policies and agreements about wages while an employee serves or is scheduled to serve. Oregon therefore imposes no general private-employer wage-continuation duty for jury service.
Court fee when the employer pays wages
Unless an employment agreement provides otherwise, a juror who receives wages or salary from the employer for required court-attendance days must waive the statutory juror fee. That waiver does not affect a mileage-reimbursement claim.
This is a waiver of the court fee, not authority for an employer to charge a vacation or sick balance.
Insurance continuation at employers with 10 or more workers
An employer with 10 or more persons commits an unlawful employment practice if it stops health, disability, life, or other insurance coverage while the employee serves or is scheduled to serve, when the employee elected continued coverage and gave notice under the employer's notification policy.
If the employer advances a share the employee should have paid, it may recover that amount from later pay. The deduction may not exceed 10% of gross pay in each pay period.
Retaliation and civil enforcement
Discharging, threatening to discharge, intimidating, or coercing an employee because of scheduled or completed service on a grand jury, trial jury, or jury of inquest is an unlawful employment practice.
An employee may file a complaint with the Bureau of Labor and Industries or bring a circuit-court action. Available civil relief includes appropriate equitable relief such as reinstatement and back pay, costs and reasonable attorney's fees, and an additional $720 civil penalty. The same enforcement routes apply to the insurance-continuation rule.
What trips people up
Oregon separates three economic issues. Jury leave is unpaid by statutory default; vacation, sick, and annual leave cannot be forced; and insurance may have to continue even though wages do not.
The insurance rule requires both a 10-person employer and an employee election with notice that complies with the employer's policy. The general leave and anti-retaliation protections do not have that employer-size threshold.
Common questions
Must an Oregon employer pay wages during jury duty?
No general wage-continuation duty applies. An employer policy or agreement may provide pay.
Can the employer force use of vacation or sick leave?
No. The employer must allow unpaid leave and may not require vacation, sick, or annual leave for time spent responding to the summons.
What happens to the juror fee if the employer pays wages?
Unless an employment agreement says otherwise, the paid juror must waive the court fee for the covered attendance days. Mileage reimbursement is unaffected.
Must insurance continue during a long trial?
At an employer with 10 or more persons, yes if the employee elects continuation and gives notice under the employer's policy, subject to the statute's employee- share repayment rules.
Statutes and sources
- ORS 10.061(3) and 10.090: juror-fee waiver, unpaid leave, no forced leave banks, wage-policy rule, and retaliation protection — official current chapter, official 2011 chapter 377, and official 2011 chapter 118 (accessed July 13, 2026).
- ORS 10.092: elected insurance continuation and repayment rules — official enacting text (accessed July 13, 2026).
- ORS 659A.885(1), (2)(a), and (7): circuit-court relief, fees, and $720 civil penalty — official current text (accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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