Rhode Island: Jury Duty Leave and Pay Requirements
The short answer
Rhode Island protects the job and the employee's advancement, but not wages. No employer may cause an employee to lose the employee's position, wage increases, promotions, longevity benefit, or any other emolument of employment because the employee has been called to serve jury duty. Unless a contract or collective-bargaining agreement says otherwise, the employer need not pay any compensation for the jury-duty period. A violation is punishable as a misdemeanor, on top of the employee's other civil rights.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Rhode Island. Ezel applies current Rhode Island law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-9-28 (prohibition against loss of employment or longevity benefits) |
|---|---|
| Jury service covered | Being called to serve jury duty (§ 9-9-28) |
| Employers and employees covered | Any employer doing business within Rhode Island or otherwise subject to the state's jurisdiction, toward its employees; the section states no employer-size, tenure, or full-time gate |
| Time-off entitlement | Employer shall not cause an employee to suffer the loss of position, wage increases, promotions, longevity benefit, or any other emolument of the employment relationship because the employee has been called to serve jury duty (§ 9-9-28); the job and its incidents are protected |
| Employer-paid wages | None by default. In the absence of a contract or collective-bargaining agreement to the contrary, no employer is responsible to pay the employee any compensation for the period of jury duty (§ 9-9-28) |
| PTO and juror-fee treatment | The section does not authorize compelling use of vacation, sick, or other paid leave and does not address offsetting juror fees against wages; it protects wage increases, promotions, and longevity benefits from loss |
| Employee notice and proof | Section 9-9-28 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 § 9-9-28 |
| Job protection and remedies | A violation, upon conviction, is punishable as a misdemeanor, and the section preserves all civil rights otherwise available to the employee in addition to that penalty (§ 9-9-28) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Protected job and advancement, unpaid time
Rhode Island's jury-employment rule is R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-9-28. No employer doing
business in Rhode Island may cause an employee to lose the employee's position,
wage increases, promotions, longevity benefit, or any other emolument of the job
because the employee has been called to serve jury duty. The protection is
unusually broad on the advancement side: it names not just the job itself but
raises, promotions, and longevity benefits.
What it does not do is require pay. By its own terms, absent a contract or
collective-bargaining agreement to the contrary, no employer is responsible to
pay the employee any compensation for the jury-duty period. So an employee's
standing, raises, and promotions are protected, while the days themselves may be
unpaid.
Enforcement
A violation, upon conviction, is punishable as a misdemeanor. The statute is also
explicit that this penalty is "in addition to all civil rights available to the
employee because of this section," so the criminal penalty does not displace an
employee's other remedies for an unlawful loss of position or benefits.
PTO, notice, and scheduling are not addressed
Section 9-9-28 does not say whether an employee may use vacation or sick leave,
and it does not by its terms let an employer compel use of paid time off. It sets
no advance-notice deadline and no summons-copy requirement, and it contains no
rule about shift rest, release time, or long trials. Those details are governed
by the employer's policy or any applicable contract.
What trips people up
The pay carve-out is written into the same sentence as the protection. An
employee keeps position, raises, promotions, and longevity credit, but "no
employer ... shall be responsible to pay ... any compensation for the period of
the jury duty" unless a contract or union agreement provides otherwise.
The protection reaches more than firing. Denying an otherwise-due raise or
promotion, or stripping a longevity benefit, because of jury service is itself
prohibited, not just an outright discharge.
Common questions
Can a Rhode Island employer fire me for jury duty?
No. An employer may not cause you to lose your position because you were called
to serve, and the same rule protects raises, promotions, and longevity benefits.
Does my employer have to pay me?
Not by default. Unless a contract or collective-bargaining agreement says
otherwise, the employer is not required to pay compensation for the jury-duty
period.
Are my raises and promotions protected while I serve?
Yes. The statute specifically bars loss of wage increases, promotions, longevity
benefit, or any other emolument because of jury duty.
What is the penalty if my employer breaks the rule?
A violation is punishable as a misdemeanor on conviction, in addition to the
other civil rights the section preserves for the employee.
Statutes and sources
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-9-28: prohibition against loss of employment, wage
increases, promotions, or longevity benefits for jury service, the default no-pay
rule, and the misdemeanor penalty preserving other civil rights —
official Rhode Island General Assembly text
(accessed July 13, 2026); cross-checked against the Justia 2025 Rhode Island
General Laws.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
Get the answer for your situation
You just read how Rhode Island handles this in general. Ezel applies current Rhode Island law to your facts and answers your specific question, with citations.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.