PURPOSE

This policy establishes guidelines with respect to Professional Staff Members who are called to serve on jury duty or who are required to appear in court or related court proceedings, such as arbitration or mediation.

APPLICABILITY

This policy applies to all eligible non-faculty Professional Staff Members, excluding those Professional Staff Members who are affiliated with a collective bargaining unit.

IMPLEMENTATION

Implementation of this policy is the responsibility of the individual supervisor with guidance from the supervisor’s HR Partner.

ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT

The Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Operating Officer is the Drexel University official responsible for the administration of this policy.

POLICY

Drexel University supports a Professional Staff Member’s fulfillment of a citizen’s duty to serve as a juror or otherwise to appear in court for trial, arbitration, mediation or other related judicial proceedings, and has established parameters applicable to such court appearances. 

DEFINITIONS

Court Duty is defined as appearing in court to serve as a juror pursuant to a summons, whether or not the individual is ultimately selected to sit on a jury, or appearing in court or in any other judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding (such as an arbitration or mediation) in response to a subpoena or other notice to attend, but does not include matters covered by Drexel’s Domestic Violence or Sexual Assault Leave Policy.

Professional Staff Member is defined as an individual employed in any non-faculty category by Drexel University, including an individual who is deemed to be either exempt or non-exempt under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and/or applicable state law.

PROCEDURES

1. The Professional Staff Member must notify their supervisor immediately upon receipt of a summons to serve on a jury or a subpoena or other notice to appear in court. The summons or notice to appear must be presented to the supervisor in order to document the necessity of the absence.
2. While serving Court Duty, the Professional Staff Member must contact their supervisor on a daily basis and keep the supervisor apprised as much as possible regarding the expected length of the Court Duty and estimated date of return to work.
3. Whenever possible, the Professional Staff Member must report to work prior to reporting for or after being excused by the court from Court Duty.
4. A Professional Staff Member will receive their regular salary from Drexel during the period of court duty as long as they are in an active pay status throughout the duration of the court duty.
5. Professional Staff Members may retain the compensation/voucher received from the court (or other source) in connection with the Court Duty.
6. If the Professional Staff Member's work attendance is deemed to be essential to University operations at the time of the proposed Court Duty and such duty would constitute a hardship to the University, the Professional Staff Member should request an exemption from Court Duty. In such an instance, the Professional Staff Member’s immediate supervisor will provide written documentation to support the request for exemption to be submitted to the court (or other person, such as attorney, who has requested the appearance).
7. The immediate supervisor must document a Professional Staff Member’s absence from work for Court Duty or involving jury service in response to a subpoena, summons or notice to appear in court (or other judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding) in connection with a matter involving Drexel University business, but such absences will not be charged against available vacation or personal floating holiday leave, and will not be considered an “occurrence” when determining absenteeism or lateness for purposes of Drexel’s Attendance Policy.
8. A Professional Staff Member’s absence in response to a subpoena or other mandated court service in a matter that is unrelated to Drexel University business must be charged against accrued vacation or personal floating holiday leave.

AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT NOT AFFECTED

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary stated in this policy, nothing herein is intended to alter the at-will status of any Professional Staff Member. Drexel University at all times retains the right to terminate any Professional Staff Member at any time for any lawful reason, or for no reason at all.