2313.18 Employer may not penalize employee for being called to jury duty. - Ohio Statutes

2313.18 Employer may not penalize employee for being called to jury duty.

(A) No employer shall discharge , threaten to discharge, or take any disciplinary action that could lead to the discharge of any permanent employee who is summoned to serve as a juror pursuant to Chapter 2313. of the Revised Code if the employee gives reasonable notice to the employer of the summons prior to the commencement of the employee’s service as a juror and if the employee is absent from employment because of the actual jury service.

(B) No employer shall require or request an employee to use annual, vacation, or sick leave for time spent responding to a summons for jury duty, time spent participating in the jury selection process, or for time spent actually serving on a jury. Nothing in this division requires an employer to provide annual, vacation, or sick leave to employees under the provisions of this section who otherwise are not entitled to those benefits under the employer’s policies.

(C) A court shall automatically postpone and reschedule the service of a summoned juror of an employer with twenty-five or fewer full-time employees, or their equivalent, if another employee of that employer has previously been summoned to appear during the same term or part of a term of that court for which that juror has been summoned and if that employer or employee demonstrates to the sufficiency of the court that the other employee has been so summoned. A postponement under this division does not constitute the excused individual’s right to one automatic postponement pursuant to section 2313.13 of the Revised Code.

(D) Whoever violates this section shall be punished as for a contempt of court pursuant to Chapter 2705. of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-09-1981; 05-18-2005