MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. -- When a federal employee is selected for jury duty, they will be paid by the county every day that they are a juror, as well as for their travel, said Margaret L. Carter, Comptroller for Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow. However, the federal employee is responsible for signing a waiver that tells the county to not pay them for their service.
When an employee of MCLB Barstow receives a notification to appear for jury duty they must first tell their supervisor of the situation, be placed on court leave, then report for jury duty on the assigned day, said Carter.
If the employee is selected, he or she would then qualify to be paid a per diem, from the county, of $15 a day, for their services as a juror, she said. This is the time when the employee must choose to sign a waiver to not receive per diem from the county court.
"If you get paid for jury service, you must return that money," Carter emphasized.
Since federal employees are being paid while they are participating in jury duty, the money they receive for doing their duty is not theirs, Carter said. A person may try to keep that money, but if it is not returned within 120 days of their completion of jury duty, they will be in debt to the United States Government.
If a federal employee is in debt to the government, the Civilian Pay Office on base will issue a letter of indebtedness to the employee to come in and settle that debt or the money owed by the employee will be deducted straight out of their paycheck, said Carter.
"There's an easy fix to avoid being indebted to the U.S. Government, and that is to sign that waiver when it is given to you," Carter said.
However, not all money has to be waived by the employee.
According to www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/Courts, all jurors are paid $0.34 per mile, one way, for their traveling expense.
The reimbursement received from the county for the travel expense can and should be accepted by a federal employee serving on jury duty, said Carter.
It is important for the federal employees on base to understand the procedures of jury duty, because not all of the courts understand the law on wage payment to jurors who are federal employees, Carter said. The employee has to make sure that if he is not offered to sign a waiver by the court, then he must request it.
If selected for jury duty, an employee should not accept pay, said Carter. It is up to the employee to make sure they sign a waiver that makes payment of any sort of salary not applicable.