Jury and Witness Duty Leave Policy

Process Owner

Senior Executive of Corporate Human Resources

Purpose

To establish uniform guidelines for providing paid time off for absences required for employees to fulfill their civic duties while serving on juries or honoring court summonses to appear as witnesses (unrelated to personal or company business).

Definitions

Jury Duty Pay – Calculated at employee’s base pay rate for time actually spent on jury or witness duty, up to a maximum of eight (8) hours per day and 40 hours per week; will include shift differential and applicable pay allowances if normally included in employee’s pay. Paid for regularly scheduled days. Employees are not required to report to GovC any compensation they receive for serving as jurors, such as meal and parking allowances.

Eligible Employee – Active full-time and part-time regular employees working a schedule of 20 or more hours per week. Exception: Some GovC employees are hired or transferred to contracts covered by the Service Contract Act. The provisions of these contracts may supersede this Policy & Procedure for employees so covered. Employees should see their supervisor or local Human Resources Representative for specific details.

Witness Service – Subpoena to testify as a witness; does not include appearance as expert witness, witness in Company matter, or as defendant or plaintiff.

Policy

It is the policy of GovC to provide leave with pay to employees called for jury duty or subpoenaed to testify as a witness. Normally, this is limited to 80 hours in a 12-month period.

Employees who are appearing in court as defendants or plaintiffs are not entitled to compensation under this procedure which is intended, solely, to assist employees in fulfilling a civic obligation.

Responsibilities

Managers/Supervisors

a. Ensure that policy is applied consistently.

b. Adjust or reschedule workload to accommodate legal requirements.

c. Authorize paid jury/witness duty leave.

Employees

a. Provide supervisor with proper notice of request to perform jury duty or witness service and obtain approval prior to commencing jury/witness duty.

b. Keep supervisor apprised of their ongoing requirements and provide verification of service.

c. Report to work on those days or parts of days when excused from jury or witness duty and when a half day (4 hours) or more of the scheduled workday remains.

Senior HR Representatives

a. Review cases that require more than 80 hours of jury or witness duty service in a 12-month period.

b. May approve exceptions to 80-hour limit based on verification of the extended requirement.

Procedures

Employee

a. Inform supervisor promptly of summons for jury duty or subpoena to testify as witness. b. Give a copy of jury duty summons or witness duty subpoena to supervisor as soon as possible so that arrangements can be made to accommodate absence.

Managers/Supervisors

a. Grant leave of absence for the periods the employee must be absent. If employee’s absence will impair an essential company operation, may require the employee to ask to be excused or to have the service deferred. When this is the case, will provide employee with written statement to support request for being excused/deferred from jury duty.

b. Approve leave with pay when supported by summons and appropriate, court-originated documentation of attendance.

c. Notify HR if Jury or Witness Duty service will require more than 80 hours of time off or if employee has exceeded 80 hours in a 12-month period.

Human Resources

Review cases that require more than 80 hours of time off in a 12-month period.