What's tough is if you have someone who is paid by the hour, or an independent contractor. The judges pointed out that serving on a jury is one of the few duties citizens are pressed into. People who would never contemplate avoiding the draft will do or say virtually anything to get out of serving on a jury, and the judges say that rankles them. Cohen said he still remembers a lawyer who was called for jury duty who most definitely didn't want to be there. A random check of a few employers found that jury duty policies vary widely.
Some companies have detailed policies, while others just make it up as it comes along.
We don't really have a policy,'' said Yale Siegal, sales manager at Mattress Warehouse on Como Avenue. Steve Sprint, a vice president in human resources at HealthEast, which has 6,000 employees, said the company provides for two weeks' pay for workers called for jury duty. Jodi Kuball, director of human resources, said the company pays the difference between the person's normal salary and what they get paid for jury duty. Time spent on a jury won't be charged against any earned benefit time. It's worked fine,'' he said.