We know that we must give employees time off to serve on a jury... Are we also required to pay employees for time spent on jury duty? Federal and most state laws require employers to give employees time-off to serve on a jury, and some state laws also require that employees be given time-off to serve as a witness. However, federal law and most state laws do not require employees to be paid for time spent away from work because of jury or witness obligations. Only a few states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, require compensation for a limited time for employees who serve on jury or witness duty. In addition, employers may not discipline employees who properly take time off for jury or witness duty and should assume that they may be on jury leave for an indefinite time. Some organizations voluntarily pay their employees for days missed for these reasons but deduct the amount paid by the court from the employee’s regular compensation. This practice is consistent with the philosophy behind the jury duty protection laws which are intended to encourage individuals to perform their civic duty. Since employees may become involved in very long trials, it is important to specify that any pay that is granted will be calculated as regular base pay and limited to some finite period. Employers should note that employees who are exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act must be paid for the whole week for any workweek in which they serve as a juror or witness and also perform actual work. However, they do not have to be paid for any workweek in which they serve as a juror or witness and do not perform any work. Hire a temp to cover her work if she is unable to do her work and serve at the same time.

I would try to put yourself in that persons shoes. What would you do if you were called to jury duty, and your boss wanted to fire you? It's an obligation to your country, just as serving in the military. Hire a temp to complete whatever work she'll be missing out on. I would say your obligation to this person depends on your state statutes. In certain states, people can be fired with or without cause, if it's that way in your state, legally you COULD fire this person, but it wouldn't exactly speak well of you if she decided to take you to court on the matter. Call your local state office, and find out what your options are as far as employment goes. :)

I agree, being selected for jury duty, is like getting a subpoena, so an employer can not make their employee break the law, by not showing up. My corporation I work for does pay an employee thier regular pay while they are gone, but not all employers do this. Like stated above, only in a small amount of states, do they require the employer to do so.