Answering questions about pay obligations for jury duty and two weeks' notice

Q         We have an employee who was summoned for jury duty. Do we, as an employer, have to pay them for the days they’re missing work?

In Mississippi, employers don’t have to pay employees for responding to a summons for jury duty, participating in the jury selection process, or serving on a jury. Employees may choose to use paid leave provided by the employer, such as accrued paid vacation time, but you may not require an employee to use accrued paid leave time to cover time away for jury-related duties.

Q         Must we keep an employee if they provide two weeks’ notice, or are we able to end their employment early?

In Mississippi, there’s no obligation to allow an employee to work out their two weeks’ notice, nor is there an obligation to pay the employee for the two-week period if you waive the two weeks’ notice.

Martin Regimbal is a shareholder of The Kullman Firm and may be reached at mjr@kullmanlaw.com.