STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5709
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 13, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to increasing the amount
of allowance that trial and grand jurors are entitled to in each court
of the unified court system
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 521 of the judiciary law, as
2 amended by chapter 302 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b) of this section, trial and
5 grand jurors in each court of the unified court system shall be entitled
6 to an allowance equal to the sum of [forty] seventy-two dollars per day
7 for each and every day of physical attendance wherein the court
8 convenes, except that no person who is employed shall be entitled to
9 receive such allowance if, pursuant to section five hundred nineteen of
10 this article, his or her employer is prohibited from withholding the
11 first [forty] seventy-two dollars of wages of such person during such
12 period and such person's daily wages equal or exceed [forty] seventy-two
13 dollars. If such person's daily wages are less than [forty] seventy-two
14 dollars, he or she shall be entitled to receive an allowance hereunder
15 equal to the difference between [forty] seventy-two dollars and the
16 amount of his or her daily wages. Such fees and those expenses actually
17 and necessarily incurred in providing food and lodging for jurors shall
18 be a state charge payable out of funds appropriated to the office of
19 court administration for that purpose.
20 § 2. Section 519 of the judiciary law, as added by chapter 85 of the
21 laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
22 § 519. Right of juror to be absent from employment. Any person who is
23 summoned to serve as a juror under the provisions of this article and
24 who notifies his or her employer to that effect prior to the commence-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07806-03-9
S. 5709 2
1 ment of a term of service shall not, on account of absence from employ-
2 ment by reason of such jury service, be subject to discharge or penalty.
3 An employer may, however, withhold wages of any such employee serving as
4 a juror during the period of such service; provided that an employer who
5 employs more than ten employees shall not withhold the first [forty]
6 seventy-two dollars of such juror's daily wages during the first three
7 days of jury service. Withholding of wages in accordance with this
8 section shall not be deemed a penalty. Violation of this section shall
9 constitute a criminal contempt of court punishable pursuant to section
10 seven hundred fifty of this chapter.
11 § 3. This act shall take effect June 1, 2020.