An authorized absence (without loss of, or reduction in pay, leave entitlement, credit for time or service, or performance or efficiency rating) of an employee from work status for attending judicial proceedings for jury duty or in a non-official/official capacity as a witness on behalf of the U.S. including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, District of Columbia, State, territory, possession, or local government.
Legal Basis:
5 USC 6322, 5537, 5515
Eligibility:
Permanent and temporary employees in a duty status or on paid leave.
Excluded:
"When Actually Employed (WAE)" or intermittent employees without a regular tour
of duty are NOT eligible for court leave.
Limitation:
There is no limit on how long an individual may be on jury duty.
Jury Fees:
Generally, if jury duty is during the employee's normal duty day, any fees collected must
be turned in, in accordance with the provisions of 5 USC 5515, 5537, 5751. If jury duty is
performed during non-workdays, holidays, or in a leave without pay (LWOP) status, fees and
allowances may be retained by the employee.
The employee must submit fees received for jury or witness service by money order or personal check to the employing activity. A certificate of attendance from the clerk must also be submitted. The certificate shows inclusive dates of jury duty or witness service and amount of fees and allowances. Fees received by the employee are collected while allowances are not. If the certificate of attendance does not identify allowances separately, all monies collected are considered fees and will be collected.
Employees may keep reimbursements for expenses received from the court, authority, or party that caused the employee to be summoned and may keep the fees that exceed the employee's compensation for the days of service. An employee serving on jury in a State or local court who waives or refuses to accept jury fees is still liable to the U.S. Government for the fees he or she would have received.
- Witness in an Official Capacity: When an employee is summoned or assigned to testify or produce official records, the individual is considered to be in an official duty status and entitled to his/her regular compensation without regard to any entitlement to court leave. In other words, the employee is on official duty and is not charged any type of leave, similar to an employee being on TDY and not being subject to leave charges.
- Witness in a Non-Official Capacity: When an employee is summoned as a witness to testify in a non-official capacity in a judicial proceeding in which the U.S., District of Columbia, State, or local government is a party, court leave is authorized. However, this does not apply to proceedings in which the employee is a party (plantiff or defendant) to the case.
