Illinois Employers Will Soon Be Required To Pay Employees for Jury Duty

Effective January 1, 2027, most Illinois employers will be required to compensate employees at their regular rate of pay for time spent serving on jury duty. The Act, which amends the Illinois Jury Duty Act and the Jury Commission Act, applies only to employers with more than 25 employees. ^[1]

The law does not define “regular rate of pay” for purposes of jury duty compensation, creating uncertainty regarding the components of compensation that must be included, such as commissions, shift differentials, bonuses, and tips. The Act also does not clarify whether compensation is limited to hours the employee otherwise would have been scheduled to work, which may create particular challenges for employers with part-time, shift-based, or flexible workforces.

To qualify for paid jury leave, employees must provide notice of their jury duty service to their employer within 10 days after issuance of the jury duty summons. The amendment does not otherwise alter existing Illinois law regarding jury duty: employers with 25 or fewer employees must still provide unpaid time off for jury duty, and employers of any size may not retaliate against employees for taking time off to serve.

Notably, the Act does not appear to impose a limit on the amount of paid jury duty leave available to an employee. Accordingly, absent future legislative, judicial, or administrative guidance to the contrary, employers may need to compensate eligible employees throughout the period of jury service, regardless of its duration.

Employees who believe they were not properly compensated for jury duty service may bring individual legal claims. Because prevailing employees may recover attorneys' fees and costs, even relatively small underpayment claims could present disproportionate litigation exposure.

Accordingly, employers should evaluate and update their leave and payroll policies and train managers and HR staff on the new law before it takes effect to help prevent inadvertent violations of the law’s pay requirements. Employers should also monitor for legislative, judicial, and administrative guidance addressing unresolved questions concerning the calculation of jury duty pay and the hours for which compensation is required.

[1] HB 4844, Pub. Act 104-0683 (eff. Jan. 1, 2027), available: https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/publicacts/view/104-0683