Connecticut: Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements
The short answer
Connecticut requires an employer to keep paying a full-time employee's regular wages for the first five days of jury service (or part of those days); the state then pays $50 a day from the sixth day on. An employer may not fire, threaten, or coerce an employee over a jury summons, and eight hours of jury duty counts as a full legal day's work, so the employer cannot demand more hours that day. A court may excuse an employer from the pay duty only for extreme financial hardship, and the state then pays the wages instead, capped at $50 a day.
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This is the general rule in Connecticut. Ezel applies current Connecticut law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 51-247 (juror compensation), 51-247a (anti-coercion and remedies), 51-247c (hardship excusal) |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Receiving a summons under § 51-232, responding to it, or serving as a juror (§ 51-247a(a)); Connecticut state-court jury service |
| Employers and employees covered | The anti-coercion rule covers any employer and employee; the pay duty covers a 'full-time employed juror' — a position normally requiring 30+ hours a week that is neither temporary nor casual (including a temporary-help-service position). Part-time and unemployed jurors instead get state expense reimbursement |
| Time-off entitlement | Employer may not deprive the employee of employment or threaten or coerce them because of a summons, response, or service (§ 51-247a(a)); eight hours of jury duty is a legal day's work and the employer may not require work beyond it that day (§ 51-247a(b)) |
| Employer-paid wages | Mandatory: employer pays a full-time employed juror regular wages for the first five days, or part thereof (§ 51-247(a)); the state pays $50/day from the sixth day (§ 51-247(c)). A court may excuse an employer only for extreme financial hardship, and the state then pays up to $50/day (§ 51-247c) |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | No forced-PTO rule; the employer pays regular wages directly, not from the employee's leave balances. A full-time employed juror receives no separate state per-diem for the first five days; the state's $50/day applies only from day six |
| Employee notice and proof | No express advance-notice-to-employer duty in the statute; the summons issues under § 51-232, and a juror service certificate records the days served and the employer's pay duty (§ 51-247c) |
| Scheduling and return-to-work rules | Eight hours of jury duty in a day is deemed a legal day's work, and the employer may not require the juror-employee to work beyond those eight hours that day (§ 51-247a(b)) |
| Job protection and remedies | Coercion or discharge is criminal contempt (fine up to $500 and/or up to 30 days) (§ 51-247a(c)); a discharged employee may sue within 90 days for lost wages (capped at 10 weeks) and reinstatement, with attorney's fees (§ 51-247a(d)); an employer that fails to pay is liable for damages, and the court may award treble damages and attorney's fees for wilful conduct (§ 51-247a(e)) |
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An unusual rule: your employer keeps paying you
Connecticut is one of the few states that makes an ordinary private employer
continue an employee's wages during jury service. Under Conn. Gen. Stat.
§ 51-247(a), "each full-time employed juror shall be paid regular wages by the
juror's employer for the first five days, or part thereof, of jury service."
After that, the cost shifts to the state: § 51-247(c) has the state pay $50 a
day for the sixth day and every day after.
The pay duty runs to a "full-time employed juror," which the statute defines as
someone in a position that normally requires thirty or more hours a week and is
neither temporary nor casual (a position filled through a temporary-help
service can still qualify). A part-time or unemployed juror is not owed employer
wages; the state instead reimburses that juror's necessary out-of-pocket
expenses for the first five days.
Keeping your job, and an eight-hour day
Separate from pay, § 51-247a(a) bars an employer from depriving an employee
of employment or threatening or coercing them because the employee gets a
summons, responds to it, or serves. The statute also protects the rest of the
day: under § 51-247a(b), eight hours of jury duty in a day counts as "a legal
day's work," and the employer may not require the juror-employee to work beyond
those eight hours that day. An employee released from court in the early
afternoon after a full morning of service cannot be ordered to finish a shift.
When an employer can be excused from paying
The pay obligation is not absolute. Section 51-247c lets a court, on written
application, excuse an employer from the duty to compensate a juror-employee.
The ground is narrow — the certificate the statute describes ties it to a
finding of "extreme financial hardship." When an employer is excused, the
employee does not simply lose the money: the court awards the juror's regular
wages, "to be paid by the state," for the first five days, capped at $50 a day.
What trips people up
The remedy for non-payment is strong. Section 51-247a(e) makes an employer that
fails to pay liable for damages, says "extreme financial hardship on the
employer shall not be a defense" to that suit (only a court excusal under
§ 51-247c is), and lets the court award "treble damages and reasonable
attorney's fees" on a finding of wilful conduct. Firing someone over jury
service is worse still: it is criminal contempt (a fine up to $500, up to 30
days, or both) under § 51-247a(c), and the discharged employee can sue within
90 days for lost wages and reinstatement under § 51-247a(d).
"Regular wages" is not paid time off. The employer pays the employee's normal
pay directly; it does not charge the days against the employee's vacation or
sick balance, and the statute contains no mechanism for forcing an employee to
use PTO for jury duty.
Common questions
Does my Connecticut employer have to pay me for jury duty?
Yes, if you are a full-time employee. The employer pays your regular wages for
the first five days of service (or part of those days). From the sixth day, the
state pays $50 a day.
What if I only work part-time?
Your employer is not required to pay you. The state reimburses a part-time or
unemployed juror's necessary out-of-pocket expenses for the first five days.
Can my employer make me work my shift after a day in court?
No. Once you have served eight hours of jury duty in a day, that is a legal
day's work, and the employer cannot require you to work more hours that day.
Can my employer ever avoid paying?
Only by asking a court to excuse it, and the statute frames that as an
extreme-financial-hardship application. If the court excuses the employer, the
state pays your wages instead, up to $50 a day.
Statutes and sources
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-247. Employer pays a full-time employed juror's
regular wages for the first five days; the state pays $50/day from the sixth
day; part-time and unemployed jurors get state expense reimbursement.
Official chapter 884
(accessed July 13, 2026). - Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-247a. Bars discharge and coercion, makes eight
hours a legal day's work, and supplies criminal-contempt, lost-wages/
reinstatement, and treble-damages remedies.
Official chapter 884
(accessed July 13, 2026). - Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-247c. A court may excuse an employer from the pay
duty for extreme financial hardship, and the state then pays the wages, capped
at $50/day.
Official chapter 884
(accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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