Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in South Dakota

At a glance

Protected job, discretionary pay

South Dakota's jury-employment rule is two short sections. Under § 16-13-41.1, no person may discharge or suspend an employee from employment for serving as a juror in any South Dakota court, and a violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Under § 16-13-41.2, an employee who serves keeps and is entitled to the same job status, pay, and seniority held before jury duty.

The pay question is answered directly and in the employer's favor: the temporary leave of absence for jury duty "may be with or without pay within the discretion of the employer" (§ 16-13-41.2). So South Dakota protects the job and the employee's standing, but does not require wage continuation during service.

What "same pay" means here

Section 16-13-41.2's guarantee of the "same job status, pay, and seniority" is a return-to-work protection: the jury absence cannot cost the employee a demotion, a pay-rate cut, or lost seniority. It is not a command that the employer pay for the days spent serving, which the same section leaves to the employer's discretion. Read together, the two sentences mean the employee's position and pay rate are protected across the service period, while whether those particular days are paid is up to the employer.

PTO, notice, and scheduling

These sections do not address whether an employee may use vacation or sick leave for jury duty, and they do not by their terms force use of paid time off. They set no advance-notice deadline and no summons-copy requirement, and they contain no rule about shift rest, release time, or long trials. Employer policy governs those points.

What trips people up

"Same pay" is about the employee's pay rate and status on return, not a promise of paid jury days. An employer may lawfully make the jury leave unpaid.

The statutory penalty is criminal. Sections 16-13-41.1 and 16-13-41.2 do not set up their own lawsuit for damages; the discharge-or-suspension prohibition is enforced as a Class 2 misdemeanor, alongside the right to keep job status, pay rate, and seniority.

Common questions

Can a South Dakota employer fire me for jury duty?

No. Discharging or suspending an employee for serving as a juror is prohibited and is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

Do I have to be paid?

Not necessarily. Jury leave may be with or without pay at the employer's discretion, though your job status, pay rate, and seniority are protected.

Can my employer demote me or cut my pay rate for serving?

No. You are entitled to the same job status, pay, and seniority you had before jury duty.

Does my employer have to pay me my full salary that week?

The statute does not require it. Whether the jury days are paid is left to the employer, subject to any separate contract or federal salary-basis rules for exempt employees.

Statutes and sources

• S.D. Codified Laws § 16-13-41.1: bar on discharging or suspending an employee for jury service, and the Class 2 misdemeanor penalty — Justia mirror of the 2025 South Dakota Codified Laws (accessed July 13, 2026).
• S.D. Codified Laws § 16-13-41.2: retention of job status, pay, and seniority, and the with-or-without-pay discretion — Justia mirror of the 2025 South Dakota Codified Laws (accessed July 13, 2026).