| Employer Information
If
your employee has been summoned for jury duty, please be aware that
he or she has an obligation under state law to
serve. The following sections from the New York State Judiciary Law provide
the authority for jury service, the prohibition
against penalizing jurors for their service and the basis for payment of the
jury fees. For further information see the Juror
Handbook.
New York State Consolidated Laws
Judiciary
Law Article 16 §500 Declaration of policy
Judiciary
Law Article 16 §519 Right of juror to be absent from employment
Judiciary
Law Article 16 §521 Fees and travel expenses of jurors
Judiciary
Law Article 16 §521-a Fees of trial jury
Judiciary
Law Article 16 §524 Disqualification of former jurors
Judiciary
Law Article 16 §500
Declaration of policy
It is the policy of this state that all litigants in the courts
of this state entitled to trial by jury shall have the right
to grand and petit juries selected at random from a fair cross-section
of the community in the county or other governmental subdivision
wherein the court convenes; and that all eligible citizens shall
have the opportunity to serve on grand and petit juries in the
courts of this state, and shall have an obligation to serve when
summoned for that purpose, unless excused.

Judiciary
Law Article 16 §519
Right of juror to be absent from employment
Any person who is summoned to serve as a juror under the provisions
of this article and who notifies his or her employer to that
effect prior to the commencement of a term of service shall not,
on account of absence from employment by reason of such jury
service, be subject to discharge or penalty. An employer may,
however, withhold wages of any such employee serving as a juror
during the period of such service; provided that an employer
who employs more than ten employees shall not withhold the first
forty dollars of such juror's daily wages during the first three
days of jury service. Withholding of wages in accordance with
this section shall not be deemed a penalty. Violation of this
section shall constitute a criminal contempt of court punishable
pursuant to section seven hundred fifty of this chapter.

Judiciary
Law Article 16 §521
Fees and travel expenses of jurors. (a)
Except as provided in subdivision (b) of this section, trial
and grand jurors in each court of the unified court system, except
town and village courts, shall be entitled to an allowance equal
to the sum of forty dollars per day for each and every day of
physical attendance wherein the court convenes, except that no
person who is employed shall be entitled to receive such allowance
if, pursuant to section five hundred nineteen of this article,
his or her employer is prohibited from withholding the first
forty dollars of wages of such person during such period and
such person's daily wages equal or exceed forty dollars. If such
person's daily wages are less than forty dollars, he or she shall
be entitled to receive an allowance hereunder equal to the difference
between forty dollars and the amount of his or her daily wages.
Such fees and those expenses actually and necessarily incurred
in providing food and lodging for jurors shall be a state charge
payable out of funds appropriated to the office of court administration
for that purpose. (b) No employee shall be entitled to receive
the per diem allowance authorized by subdivision (a) of this
section for any regularly scheduled workday on which jury service
is rendered if, on such day, his or her wages are not withheld
on account of such service. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision
of this section, a trial or grand juror may waive entitlement
to the allowance authorized by subdivision (a) of this section.
In such event the amount of such allowance shall be available
to the chief administrator of the courts solely for the purposes
specified in paragraph (m) of subdivision two of section two
hundred twelve of this chapter, except that any such amounts
not expended in such fashion as of the close of the fiscal year
in which they became available shall be transferred by the comptroller
to the supplemental jury facilities fund established pursuant
to section ninety-four-c of the state finance law.

Judiciary
Law Article 16 §521-a
Fees of trial jury
In any action or special proceeding in a court of the unified
court system that requires a juror's physical attendance for
more
than thirty days, the court, by an order entered into the minutes, shall notify
the commissioner of jurors of such service. The
commissioner of jurors, upon receipt of such order and upon verification of
such service by the clerk of the court shall, upon
conclusion of such service, authorize as an additional allowance, the sum of
six dollars per day for each and every day of
physical attendance in excess of thirty days, wherein the court convenes. Such
fees shall be a state charge payable out of
funds appropriated to the office of court administration for the purpose.

Judiciary
Law Article 16 §524
Disqualification of former jurors
(a) A person who has served
on a grand or petit jury in any court of the unified court system
or in a federal court shall not be competent to serve again as
a trial or grand juror in any court of the unified court system
for four years subsequent to the last day of such service, provided,
however, that any person who serves on a grand or petit jury
for more than ten days shall not be competent to serve again
as a trial or grand juror for a period equal to the period authorized
by this subdivision or subdivision (c) of this section, as appropriate,
plus four years. (b) Nothing contained in this section shall
invalidate a verdict returned by trial jury or an indictment
returned by a grand jury when such trial or grand jury includes
one or more trial or grand jurors not competent by virtue of
such previous service. (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of
subdivision (a) of this section, if the commissioner of jurors,
after consultation with and concurrence of the district administrative
judge or judges, or in the counties with-in the city of New York
the deputy chief administrative judge, shall determine that:(i)
compliance with the requirements of subdivision (a) of this section
would be impracticable, the commissioner may reduce the period
of incompetency to two years; or (ii) the period of incompetency
for all jurors pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section may
be extended without interfering with the commissioner's ability
to comply with the provisions of section five hundred eight of
this article, the commissioner may increase the period of incompetency.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the period
during which a person shall not be competent to serve as a trial
or grand juror pursuant to this section shall be one-half the
period specified in subdivision (a) or (c) of this section, as
appropriate, where such person so requests on a form to be provided
by the commissioner of jurors. Such a request may be submitted
at any time during the period of incompetency.
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