Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in Tennessee
At a glance
| Governing law | Tenn. Code Ann. § 22-4-106, enacted in its current numbering by 2008 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 1159 |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Jury service in any court of the United States or Tennessee; daily work excuse applies when service exceeds three hours, while anti-discrimination protection applies to serving on jury duty (§ 22-4-106(a), (d)) |
| Employers and employees covered | Employer includes the State and local government (§ 22-4-106(f)). Leave and job protection state no size or tenure gate, but wage continuation is not required when the employer regularly employs fewer than five people or the juror has been employed temporarily for less than six months (§ 22-4-106(b)) |
| Time-off entitlement | After timely summons display, employer must excuse the employee from employment for each day jury service exceeds three hours (§ 22-4-106(a)(1)); night-shift and pre-court-hours workers receive additional shift relief under subsection (a)(2) |
| Employer-paid wages | Usual compensation from employment for the excused absence, subject to employer discretion to deduct juror fees and limited to time actually spent serving and traveling; no pay duty for employers with fewer than five regular workers or employees hired temporarily for under six months (§ 22-4-106(b)) |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | Employer has discretion to deduct the fee or compensation received for jury service from usual compensation (§ 22-4-106(b)). No express rule on compelled or voluntary vacation, sick leave, or other PTO stated in § 22-4-106 |
| Employee notice and proof | Employee must exhibit the summons to the immediate superior on the next day the employee is engaged in employment after receiving it (§ 22-4-106(a)(1)). Juror-pay issuer must provide a daily/total fee statement and, if requested by juror or employer before the service at issue, a statement of daily service hours (§ 22-4-106(c)) |
| Scheduling and return-to-work rules | Night-shift or pre-court-hours employee is excused from the shift immediately before the first service day. After day one, if jury responsibility exceeds three hours, that employee is excused from the next scheduled work period within 24 hours; trial judge conclusively resolves application to a shift (§ 22-4-106(a)(2)) |
| Job protection and remedies | After required notice, no discharge or discrimination for jury service (§ 22-4-106(d)(1)); employee discharged, demoted, or suspended is entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement of lost wages and work benefits (§ 22-4-106(d)(2)(A)). Willful refusal to rehire or restore and any violation of the section are Class A misdemeanors (§ 22-4-106(d)(2)(B), (e)) |
Show the summons on the next workday
Tenn. Code Ann. § 22-4-106(a)(1) requires an employee who receives a jury summons to exhibit it to the immediate superior on the next day the employee is engaged in employment. The employer must then excuse the employee for each day service in a United States or Tennessee court exceeds three hours.
That exact notice step matters because subsection (d)'s discharge and discrimination protection is conditioned on giving the required notice before taking time off.
Usual compensation with two pay exceptions
For the excused absence, the employee generally receives usual compensation. The employer may deduct the fee or compensation the employee receives as a juror and need not pay for more time than the employee actually spends serving and traveling to and from jury duty.
The pay duty has two express exceptions. An employer that regularly employs fewer than five people need not compensate the juror, and compensation is not required when the juror has been employed on a temporary basis for less than six months. Those exceptions affect pay; they are not written as exceptions to the leave or anti-discrimination rules.
Section 22-4-106 states no separate rule requiring or barring use of vacation, sick leave, or other PTO.
Night-shift and pre-court-hours relief
An employee working a night shift or during hours before court is normally held must be excused from the shift immediately preceding the first jury day. After the first day, when jury responsibility exceeds three hours, the employee is excused from the next scheduled work period occurring within 24 hours.
If the rule's application to a particular shift is disputed, the trial judge of the summoning court resolves the question conclusively.
Proof and enforcement
The person paying juror fees must issue a statement showing the daily fee and total compensation. The juror or employer may also request a statement of daily service hours, but the request must be made before the service at issue.
An employee discharged, demoted, or suspended for protected time off is entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement of lost wages and work benefits. A willful refusal to rehire or otherwise restore the employee is a Class A misdemeanor, and any employer violation of the section is also classified as a Class A misdemeanor.
What trips people up
The statute was renumbered. Current protection is in § 22-4-106 after the 2008 replacement of Title 22, not the older § 22-4-108 citation.
The three-hour threshold appears in both the daily work-excuse rule and the post-first-day shift rule. It should not be rewritten as automatic full-day leave for every short summons response.
Common questions
Must a Tennessee employer pay for jury duty?
Generally yes: usual compensation, with discretion to deduct juror fees. The pay mandate does not apply to employers with fewer than five regular workers or to a juror employed temporarily for less than six months.
When must the employee give notice?
The employee must show the summons to the immediate superior on the next day the employee works after receiving it.
Does Tennessee cover federal jury service?
Yes. The statute expressly covers service in any court of the United States as well as Tennessee.
What happens after retaliation?
Discharge, demotion, or suspension supports reinstatement and reimbursement of lost wages and work benefits. Criminal misdemeanor consequences also apply.
Statutes and sources
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 22-4-106(a)-(f): summons display, three-hour leave threshold, usual compensation and exceptions, juror-fee offset, service-hour statements, shift relief, retaliation, remedies, and public-employer coverage — official enacted text (accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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