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Definition:
Court leave is a leave category separate from an employee's personal leave (annual leave, compensatory leave, credit hours) balances that is granted to employees for attending judicial proceedings for jury duty or in a non-official/official capacity as a witness on behalf of the U.S. including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, District of Columbia, State, territory, possession, or local government.
Legal Basis:
5 USC 6322, 5537,5515, 5751
Eligibility:
Permanent and temporary employees in a duty status or on paid leave.
Excluded:
Intermittent employees without a regular tour of duty are NOT eligible for court leave.
Limitation:
There is no limit on how long an individual may be on jury duty.
Jury Fees:
Generally, if jury duty is during the employee's normal duty day and the employee is on court leave, any fees collected must be turned into DOT. If jury duty is performed during non-workdays, holidays, or in a leave without pay (LWOP) status, fees and allowances may be retained by the employee. An employee serving on a jury in a State or local court who waives or refuses to accept jury fees is still liable to DOT for the fees he or she would have received.
Witnesses:
- Witness in an Official Capacity: When an employee is summoned or assigned to testify or produce official records, the individual is considered to be in an official duty status and entitled to his/her regular compensation without regard to any entitlement to court leave. In other words, the employee is on official duty and is not charged any type of leave, similar to an employee being on TDY and not being subject to leave charges.
- Witness in a Non-Official Capacity: When an employee is summoned as a witness to testify in a non-official capacity in a judicial proceeding in which theU.S., District of Columbia, State, or local government is a party, court leave is authorized.
Witness in a Non-Official Capacity for Private Parties: When an employee is called as a witness in a nonofficial capacity in a judicial proceeding involving only private parties, the employee must take annual leave or leave without pay for the time needed to be absent. In this instance, the employee is entitled to retain any fees or expenses paid for these services.
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