Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements in Vermont
At a glance
| Governing law | 21 V.S.A. § 499 (jurors and witnesses) |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Service as a juror (§ 499(a)); the same section separately covers attendance as a subpoenaed witness (§ 499(b)), which is outside this survey |
| Employers and employees covered | Written as a flat duty of any 'employer' toward any 'employee'; no employer-size or tenure gate stated. All employees are deemed in the employer's service during jury service for seniority, fringe benefits, and vacation credit (§ 499(a)(2)) |
| Time-off entitlement | Employer shall not discharge an employee because of juror service, or penalize or deprive the employee of any right, privilege, or benefit in a manner that discriminates between jurors and non-jurors (§ 499(a)(1)); the absence is protected |
| Employer-paid wages | None. Section 499 requires no wage continuation; it protects benefits and non-discrimination, not a paycheck during service |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | The employee keeps accruing seniority, fringe benefits, and vacation credit during jury service (§ 499(a)(2)); the section does not authorize compelling use of vacation or other paid leave and does not address offsetting court juror fees against wages |
| Employee notice and proof | Section 499 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 § 499 |
| Job protection and remedies | A person who violates the section shall be fined not more than $200 (§ 499(c)); the section provides no separate statutory reinstatement, damages, or fee-shifting remedy |
Protected job, preserved benefits, unpaid time
Vermont's rule for employees who serve on a jury is 21 V.S.A. § 499. An employer may not discharge an employee because of jury service, and may not penalize the employee or take away any right, privilege, or benefit in a way that discriminates between jurors and employees who are not serving.
Section 499 adds a benefit-preservation rule that many states lack: while serving as a juror, the employee is treated as still in the employer's service for purposes of seniority, fringe benefits, credit toward vacation, and other employment rights. So jury service should not reset an employee's seniority or stop paid-time-off from accruing.
What the section does not do is require the employer to pay wages. Vermont is a protected-but-unpaid state. An employer policy or union contract may provide paid jury leave, but the statute does not command it.
PTO, notice, and scheduling
Because jury time counts toward vacation credit and fringe benefits, an employee does not lose that accrual for serving. The section does not, however, let an employer force an employee to burn a vacation or personal-leave balance for the jury days, and it does not address crediting the court's juror fee against any wages an employer chooses to pay.
The statute 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 practical details are left to the employer's policy.
Enforcement
Section 499's stated penalty is a fine of not more than $200 for a violation (§ 499(c)). The section does not create its own reinstatement, back-pay, or attorney-fee remedy. An employee who is fired for jury service and believes the discharge was unlawful should consult a lawyer about the fine provision and any separate wrongful-discharge theory, rather than assume the statute itself awards damages.
What trips people up
The strongest part of Vermont's statute is benefit protection, not pay. Seniority and accruals continue, and the employee cannot be singled out for penalty, but the employer is not required to keep issuing a paycheck during service.
The remedy is also modest on the face of the statute: a fine, not a built-in lawsuit for lost wages. That makes the anti-discrimination and benefit-accrual protections the practical center of the rule.
Common questions
Can a Vermont employer fire me for serving on a jury?
No. Discharging an employee because of jury service is prohibited, as is penalizing the employee or stripping benefits in a discriminatory way.
Do I lose seniority or vacation accrual while I serve?
No. The statute treats you as still in the employer's service for seniority, fringe benefits, and vacation credit during jury service.
Does my employer have to pay me?
Not under this statute. Vermont does not require wage continuation for jury service, though an employer may choose to pay.
What is the penalty if my employer breaks the rule?
The statute sets a fine of up to $200 for a violation and does not itself provide a separate damages award.
Statutes and sources
- 21 V.S.A. § 499(a), (c): the anti-discharge and anti-discrimination rule, benefit and seniority preservation during service, and the fine for violations — Justia mirror of the 2025 Vermont Statutes (accessed July 13, 2026); cross-checked against FindLaw.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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