Maine: Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements
The short answer
Maine protects both the job and the employee's health insurance during jury service, but does not require pay. An employer may not fire an employee, cancel the employee's health insurance, or threaten or coerce the employee about either, because the employee is summoned for, responds to, or serves jury duty. Violating the section is a Class E crime, and a fired employee may sue within 90 days for reinstatement and lost wages (capped at six weeks) plus attorney's fees. No Maine statute requires the employer to keep paying wages during service.
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This is the general rule in Maine. Ezel applies current Maine law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | 14 M.R.S. § 1218 (protection of jurors' employment and health insurance) |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Receiving a summons for jury service, responding to a summons, serving as a juror, and attending court for prospective jury service (§ 1218); the section speaks to jury service, not witness or subpoena appearances |
| Employers and employees covered | Written as a flat duty of any 'employer' toward any 'employee'; § 1218 states no employer-size, tenure, or classification gate |
| Time-off entitlement | The absence for a summons, prospective-jury attendance, and actual service is protected: the employer may not deprive the employee of employment because of it (§ 1218). The section bars retaliation rather than spelling out a quantity of leave |
| Employer-paid wages | None. Section 1218 requires no wage continuation; it protects the job and health insurance, not a paycheck during service |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | Section 1218 does not authorize compelling use of vacation, personal, or sick leave for jury days, and does not address crediting the court's juror fee against any wages an employer chooses to pay |
| Employee notice and proof | Section 1218 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, night-shift excusal, minimum-release period, or long-trial rule appears in § 1218 |
| Job protection and remedies | An employer may not deprive an employee of employment or health insurance, or threaten or coerce the employee about either, because of jury service; a violation is a Class E crime. A discharged employee (or one whose health insurance is terminated) may bring a civil action within 90 days for reinstatement and lost wages or health-insurance benefits, with wage damages capped at six weeks and a reasonable attorney's fee to a prevailing employee (§ 1218) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Protected job, protected health insurance, unpaid time
Maine's rule for employees called to jury service is 14 M.R.S. § 1218. An employer
may not deprive an employee of employment because the employee receives a summons,
responds to it, serves as a juror, or attends court for prospective jury service.
The section reaches every stage of the process, from the summons through actual
service.
What sets Maine apart from most states is that § 1218 protects health insurance
coverage alongside the job. An employer may not terminate the employee's health
insurance — or threaten or coerce the employee about losing either the job or the
coverage — because of jury service. That extra protection matters most for hourly
and lower-wage workers whose coverage might otherwise be at risk during an unpaid
absence.
What the section does not do is require the employer to pay wages. Maine 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
Section 1218 does not let an employer force an employee to use vacation, personal,
or sick leave for the jury days, and it does not address crediting the court's juror
fee against any wages the employer chooses to pay. Those choices are left to the
employer's policy.
The section also sets no advance-notice deadline, requires no particular written
notice, and does not spell out a right to produce a copy of the summons. It contains
no rule about shift rest, release time, or long trials. As a practical matter, an
employee should still tell the employer promptly and keep the summons, because
notifying the employer is what triggers the protection in the first place.
Enforcement
Section 1218 carries unusually firm consequences. A violation is a Class E crime,
Maine's lowest criminal grade but a criminal offense nonetheless. Separately, an
employee who is discharged — or whose health insurance is terminated — in violation
of the section may bring a civil action within 90 days to recover lost wages or
health-insurance benefits and to obtain reinstatement. Wage damages are capped at
six weeks of lost wages, and a prevailing employee is entitled to a reasonable
attorney's fee set by the court.
What trips people up
The strongest features of Maine's statute are the health-insurance protection and
the criminal penalty, not pay. The employer must keep the job and the coverage
available, but it does not have to keep issuing a paycheck during service.
The civil deadline is short. An employee who is fired over jury service has only 90
days to sue under this section, and the recoverable wage loss is limited to six
weeks. Waiting past the 90-day window can forfeit the § 1218 claim, so an affected
employee should act quickly rather than assume there is a long limitations period.
Common questions
Can a Maine employer fire me for serving on a jury?
No. Depriving an employee of employment because of a summons, prospective-jury
attendance, or actual service violates § 1218 and is a Class E crime.
Can my employer cancel my health insurance while I serve?
No. Section 1218 specifically bars terminating an employee's health insurance
coverage because of jury service.
Does my employer have to pay me?
Not under this statute. Maine does not require wage continuation for jury service,
though an employer may choose to pay.
How long do I have to sue if I am fired?
Ninety days from the discharge. The court may order reinstatement and up to six
weeks of lost wages, plus a reasonable attorney's fee if you prevail.
Statutes and sources
- 14 M.R.S. § 1218: bars depriving an employee of employment or health insurance
because of jury service, makes a violation a Class E crime, and provides a 90-day
civil action for reinstatement and up to six weeks' lost wages with attorney's
fees —
Maine Legislature official statute text
(accessed July 13, 2026); cross-checked against the
Justia 2025 Maine Revised Statutes mirror.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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