Does two weeks notice include time spent on jury duty?

July 13, 2010 5:27 PM

If a person gives two weeks notice at a job, but those two weeks include potential jury duty, should you extend the two weeks notice to, say, three? Or is two weeks sufficient, since the employer still gets the full two weeks to find a replacement, whether I'm there or not?
posted by AONeal79 to Work & Money (15 answers total)

If all they spent the two weeks doing was finding a replacement with you not there, there'd be no need to keep paying you. The intent is for you to stay there, wrap up your projects, and help with the transition. I don't think you have an obligation to extend your notice because of jury duty, but it would be considerate of you to offer.
posted by PercussivePaul at 5:33 PM on July 13, 2010

Response by poster: I know for certain they will not have my replacement by the time I leave - they take too long to do that sort of thing.
posted by AONeal79 at 5:47 PM on July 13, 2010

Best answer: Honestly, if you don't have a contact, you can do whatever. 2 weeks is a courtesy, not a requirement. Be honest with your boss, but don't feel obligated to stretch it because of possible jury duty.
posted by inturnaround at 5:53 PM on July 13, 2010

I meant "contract".
posted by inturnaround at 5:53 PM on July 13, 2010

Is there any harm to giving three weeks notice?
posted by Pants! at 6:28 PM on July 13, 2010

In this instance, I'd ask someone at the court if it would be appropriate to ask to be excused.
posted by theora55 at 6:55 PM on July 13, 2010

Response by poster: There's no harm in giving three weeks notice, other than a strong desire to start the new job!
posted by AONeal79 at 7:59 PM on July 13, 2010

Is the jury duty a possibility or for certain, going on right now? If it's the latter, I wouldn't give notice until the jury duty was up. If it's the former, wait and see how it plays out.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:40 PM on July 13, 2010

You can probably delay the Jury Duty for a short time period in order to do the job transition. Call the court clerk.
posted by jeffamaphone at 9:11 PM on July 13, 2010

Seconding calling to inquire about delaying. A few years back, my office was temporarily short-staffed because my co-worker had to take long-term sick leave, along with a couple of other things affecting staff. I called up, explained the circumstances, and asked for a delay. They agreed to it, and just put my name back into the pool for the next draw.
posted by telophase at 9:18 PM on July 13, 2010

I don't see any reason to prolong the notice-- the old job is going to have to learn to get by without you anyway, and the new job probably doesn't want to wait.

You might suggest that you don't expect payment for the jury duty day(s), which would be less awkward than your old boss suggesting the same thing.
posted by zompist at 10:40 PM on July 13, 2010

Maybe talk to them about it? One thing that's good: doing everything you can with a former employer to make them satisfied. I hate doing it but knowing that you can call on a former employer for a reference is huge.

Miserable scenario 1: you start this new job, it's great, and in a month you get laid off. You find a new new job, have to call on your original job for a reference. Well then, you might want to have taken care of them the best you could now.

I think it might be reasonable to still give two weeks including the jury duty but I'd suggest a sit down with your boss. Unless he/she is an a-hole.
posted by sully75 at 6:07 AM on July 14, 2010

Legally, you have to be paid for jury duty.

You can usually defer jury duty at least once.
posted by micawber at 7:52 AM on July 14, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks, everybody. Yes, jury duty at this point is a just possibility, though I believe I have already committed to next week (via phone registration) so I probably can't defer. This is fine - I don't mind doing jury duty - I just wanted to see how it might impact the length of time for which I give notice.
posted by AONeal79 at 5:01 PM on July 14, 2010

Response by poster: (I meant to say that jury duty at this point is JUST a possibility.)
posted by AONeal79 at 5:01 PM on July 14, 2010