California employees can take up to two hours off with pay to vote in a statewide election when they can’t vote outside working hours. Employers also can’t fire or discipline an employee for serving on a jury or appearing in court under a witness subpoena. For conduct after 2024, the jury and witness protections sit in the Fair Employment and Housing Act instead of the Labor Code, which changes how a claim proceeds. A docked paycheck or a missed attendance point is usually where these disputes start.
What does California require for jury duty and witness leave?
It bars any adverse action for the time off. Under Government Code section 12945.8(a), an employer may not “Discharge or in any manner discriminate against an employee for taking time off to serve as required by law on an inquest jury or trial jury.” The same subdivision protects an employee who takes time off “to appear in court to comply with a subpoena or other court order as a witness in any judicial proceeding.”
The section reaches almost every employer. For this section, an “Employer” includes “Any person who directly employs one or more persons to perform services for a wage or salary,” according to section 12945.8(j). That’s broader than FEHA’s usual five-employee threshold.
Employees have a notice duty for jury service. The employee “shall give the employer reasonable advance notice of the employee’s intention to take time off, unless the advance notice is not feasible,” under section 12945.8(c)(1). A jury summons usually arrives weeks ahead, so a notice defense rarely holds up unless the employee gave none at all. Asking for a copy of the summons when the employee reports it creates the record.
The witness protection is narrower than many policies assume. Its text covers time off “to appear in court” under a subpoena or court order. A deposition taken at a law office isn’t an appearance in court on the face of the statute, but an employer that disciplines an employee for complying with any subpoena invites a fight over the edge of that language. The safer course is to treat all subpoenaed testimony the same way.
Which law applies: the Labor Code or FEHA?
It depends on when the conduct happened. The jury and witness protections used to be in Labor Code section 230. The version of section 230 now on the books states that it “shall apply only to alleged actions or inactions occurring on or before December 31, 2024.” Conduct after that date falls under section 12945.8.
The difference matters for a pending claim. Under former section 230, an employee disciplined for jury or witness time “shall be entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the acts of the employer,” and may file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner’s office “pursuant to Section 98.7,” according to section 230(g) and (h).
Section 12945.8 is part of FEHA’s article on unlawful practices. It also makes it “an unlawful employment practice for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this section,” under section 12945.8(f). A claim based on conduct in 2025 or later is therefore a FEHA claim, with the Civil Rights Department process and FEHA remedies that come with it.
Section 12945.8 also covers leave and accommodations for crime victims and their families. Those rules have their own notice and certification requirements, and they aren’t covered in this post.
Do employers have to pay for jury duty?
The state statutes don’t require it, but they let the employee use paid time. Under section 12945.8(g), “An employee may use vacation, personal leave, paid sick leave, or compensatory time off that is otherwise available to the employee under the applicable terms of employment, unless otherwise provided by a collective bargaining agreement,” for time taken off for jury or witness service.
That creates two traps. The first is forcing the employee to use vacation for jury duty. The statute says the employee “may use” it, which reads as the employee’s choice. The second is exempt employees, whose salary rules limit what can be deducted for a partial week of jury service. Payroll should flag both before the paycheck goes out.
A written jury-duty policy that says whether the company pays, for how many days, and how the employee reports service is worth having. A written policy keeps supervisors from improvising.
What are California’s voting leave rules?
Up to two paid hours when the employee can’t vote outside work. Under Elections Code section 14000(a), “If a voter does not have sufficient time outside of working hours to vote at a statewide election, the voter may, without loss of pay, take off enough working time that, when added to the voting time available outside of working hours, will enable the voter to vote.”
The statute sets limits that employers can rely on. “No more than two hours of the time taken off for voting shall be without loss of pay,” and the time off “shall be only at the beginning or end of the regular working shift, whichever allows the most free time for voting and the least time off from the regular working shift, unless otherwise mutually agreed,” under section 14000(b).
Notice runs both ways. If the employee knows or has reason to believe by the third working day before the election that time off will be needed, the employee “shall give the employer at least two working days’ notice,” according to section 14000(c). And “Not less than 10 days before every statewide election, every employer shall keep posted conspicuously at the place of work” a notice of these rules, under section 14001.
The paid-time right covers statewide elections, not purely local ones. And it applies only when the employee lacks enough time outside working hours, which is a real question for a worker whose shift leaves time to vote before or after work. Section 14000 has no penalty provision of its own, so the exposure comes from the unpaid time and from any discipline tied to the absence.
| Leave | Source | Employee notice | Pay | Main exposure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jury service | Gov. Code 12945.8(a) | Reasonable advance notice unless not feasible | Not required by statute, employee may use paid leave | FEHA claim for conduct after 2024 |
| Witness under subpoena | Gov. Code 12945.8(a) | Not listed for this paragraph | Not required by statute, employee may use paid leave | FEHA claim for conduct after 2024 |
| Voting | Elec. Code 14000 | Two working days if known by the third working day before | Up to two hours without loss of pay | Unpaid time and discipline tied to the absence |
| Federal jury service | 28 U.S.C. 1875 | Not addressed | Not addressed | Lost wages and a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation |
Does federal law add anything for jury service?
Yes, for service in federal court. “No employer shall discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate, or coerce any permanent employee by reason of such employee’s jury service, or the attendance or scheduled attendance in connection with such service, in any court of the United States,” under 28 U.S.C. 1875(a).
The remedies are specific. A violating employer “shall be liable for damages for any loss of wages or other benefits,” may be ordered to reinstate the employee, and “shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation as to each employee,” according to section 1875(b). A court may award fees to a prevailing employer “only if the court finds that the action is frivolous, vexatious, or brought in bad faith.”
The federal statute covers “permanent” employees. A California employer shouldn’t lean on that word, since section 12945.8 has no similar limit and applies to state jury service as well.
Steps when an employee claims jury or voting leave retaliation
These claims usually come down to the attendance records and what the supervisor said about the absence. The firm’s page for employment defense counsel in California has more on how such claims are handled.
- Preserve the jury summons or subpoena, the employee’s notice, attendance and timekeeping records, pay records for the days missed, the leave and attendance policies, and texts and emails between the employee and the supervisor.
- Calendar the response deadline on the CRD complaint, Labor Commissioner complaint, or lawsuit, and check for an arbitration agreement and an EPLI policy with notice requirements.
- Identify who decided any discipline or schedule change, and pause attendance points or discipline tied to the absence while it’s reviewed.
- Confirm the dates of the conduct to decide whether former Labor Code section 230 or Government Code section 12945.8 governs, and check whether the voting notice was posted before the election.
- Get legal advice before responding to the agency, contacting the employee about the claim, or correcting pay for the time off.
Jury duty and voting leave questions
Can an employer require an employee to postpone jury service?
An employer can ask the employee to request a postponement from the court. But pressuring the employee to skip service, or disciplining them for refusing to seek a delay, risks a claim that the employer discriminated against the employee for jury service. The request should be voluntary and documented that way.
Does an employer have to pay hourly employees for jury duty?
California’s statutes don’t require it. Section 12945.8 lets the employee use vacation, personal leave, paid sick leave, or compensatory time that’s otherwise available. A company that promises jury pay in its handbook should follow its own policy, since a broken promise can turn into a wage claim.
Are employees entitled to paid time off to vote in a local election?
Not under Elections Code section 14000, which covers statewide elections. An employer can still choose to give time off for local elections. The posting requirement in section 14001 also applies only before statewide elections, so a company should calendar those dates each year.
Can an employer count jury duty as an attendance occurrence?
No. Counting the absence against the employee is a form of discrimination for taking the time off, and automated attendance-point systems make that mistake easy. Attendance systems should have a code that excludes jury and witness time automatically.
If your company faces a jury duty or voting leave claim
If your company has received a CRD complaint, a Labor Commissioner complaint, or a lawsuit alleging discipline for jury service, witness duty, or voting, the attendance records and the timing of the employee’s notice usually decide the claim. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents employers defending employment lawsuits and claims through its business litigation practice, including claims involving jury service and voting leave. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.
Sources
The California statutes are Government Code section 12945.8, Labor Code section 230, Elections Code section 14000, and Elections Code section 14001. The federal statute is 28 U.S.C. 1875.
This post is general information about California and federal employment law as of November 7, 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Employment statutes, regulations, and court decisions change often, and the outcome of any claim depends on its facts. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.