Policy on Jury Duty

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Policy Category: Executive

Effective Date: 10/4/2023

Responsible Officer: Vice President for Employee Relations and Engagement

History: New Policy

Responsible Office: Employee Relations and Engagement

Location: Link

Purpose

This policy is intended to provide guidance to Wentworth Institute of Technology’s (the university) faculty and staff academic administrative departments related to needed time off when called to jury duty.

Scope/Availability

This policy applies to all faculty and staff affiliated with this policy.

Legal

MGL Ch. 234A§48

Policy

Wentworth recognizes an employee’s civic duty to appear as a juror or witness in federal and state court and will provide compensation for those who have been summoned or subpoenaed to appear in court as outlined below.

Definitions

Employee: For the purposes of this policy means non-union employees.

Procedure(s)

Notification

All non-union must notify their supervisor when they have received a summons or subpoena to allow for needed arrangements to accommodate any absence.  Union employees are encouraged to do so. 

Compensation

  1. Unless subject to a union contract, all full-time and part-time employees called to jury duty on days they are regularly scheduled to work will receive the difference between their salary and the amount they receive from the court. 
  2. Temporary staff employees will receive up to three (3) days of pay for the first three (3) days of jury duty provided that jury duty falls on regularly scheduled workdays.  Any time off beyond three (3) days is unpaid, but employees can use their vacation or personal time. 
  3. All employees must present evidence of juror service to Employee Relations and Engagement. This includes any evidence of compensation paid to the employee by the court.  
  4. All employees are expected to report to work on any day their juror service is cancelled.  
  5. The accrual of regular employee benefits will not be affected by the leave of absence. 
  6. The university may also pay the employee for time spent in court for their time as a witness in a matter involving the university.  
  7. If an employee is a party to the action, the time off should be charged to accrued vacation time or personal days or the time may be taken off without pay; the time off cannot be charged to sick time. 

Additional Information & Related Documents 

Employee Policies and Procedures Guide

Interpretation & Revision

Any questions of interpretation regarding this policy shall be referred to the Vice President for Employee Engagement and Relations. They will be the final authority regarding the interpretation of this policy. 

This policy shall be reviewed every 3 years, however minor changes and updates can be made at any time. 

Wentworth will typically apply the policy in place at the time it receives a report concerning the respected policy. 

Additionally, in instances where two or more policies are implicated, a case-by-case determination will be made to determine what policy will be used. 

Review and Revision History

This policy was drafted by representatives from Employee Relations and Engagement. It was reviewed by the President’s cabinet and approved by the President on 10/4/2023. 

This is a new policy.