South Dakota: Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements
The short answer
South Dakota protects the job but leaves pay to the employer. No person may discharge or suspend an employee from employment for serving as a juror in any South Dakota court, and doing so is a Class 2 misdemeanor. An employee who serves keeps the same job status, pay, and seniority held before jury duty, but the leave itself may be paid or unpaid at the employer's discretion.
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This is the general rule in South Dakota. Ezel applies current South Dakota law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | S.D. Codified Laws § 16-13-41.1 (no discharge or suspension; Class 2 misdemeanor) and § 16-13-41.2 (retained job status, pay, and seniority; leave with or without pay) |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Serving as a juror in any court in the State of South Dakota (§ 16-13-41.1) |
| Employers and employees covered | 'No person' (employer) may discharge or suspend 'any employee'; the sections state no employer-size, tenure, or full-time gate |
| Time-off entitlement | No person shall discharge or suspend any employee from employment for serving as a juror (§ 16-13-41.1); the absence to serve is protected |
| Employer-paid wages | None required. A temporary leave of absence for jury duty 'may be with or without pay within the discretion of the employer' (§ 16-13-41.2) |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | The sections do not authorize compelling use of vacation, sick, or other paid leave and do not address offsetting juror fees against wages; on return the employee keeps the same job status, pay, and seniority held before service (§ 16-13-41.2) |
| Employee notice and proof | Neither section imposes an 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; the employee returns to the same job status, pay, and seniority (§ 16-13-41.2) |
| Job protection and remedies | Discharging or suspending an employee for jury service is a Class 2 misdemeanor (§ 16-13-41.1); the employee is entitled to retain and be restored to the same job status, pay, and seniority as before jury duty (§ 16-13-41.2). These sections state no separate private civil action |
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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).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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