Direct answer
California skilled nursing employers must allow employees time off for jury service and for subpoenaed or court-ordered witness appearances under Government Code section 12945.8. As of October 4, 2026, the statewide rule applies to employers with one or more employees, so ePeople’s SNF audience should treat this as a live HR, scheduling, payroll, and retaliation-control workflow.
Key takeaways
- California jury-duty and subpoena-witness protections apply to California skilled nursing employers under Government Code section 12945.8.
- There is no 25-employee threshold for jury service or subpoena-witness protection; the 25-employee threshold in section 12945.8 applies to different leave in subdivision (b), not these rights.
- California protects the time off, but it does not create a general statewide rule that all jury-duty or witness time must be paid; exempt employees are the main payroll exception because salary deductions are restricted under federal salary-basis rules.
- Employees may use available vacation, personal leave, paid sick leave, or compensatory time off for this leave, subject to any applicable CBA terms.
- A workable SNF process is to collect the summons or subpoena, code the absence correctly, pause discipline tied to the absence, and keep the paper trail that matches the legal trigger.
What changed for California jury-duty and witness leave, and why does it matter to a SNF now?
The current statewide rule for California skilled nursing employers is Government Code section 12945.8, not the older Labor Code framing many operators still have in handbooks or manager notes. AB 406 amended section 12945.8 effective October 1, 2025, and that is the baseline to use on October 4, 2026. For a SNF, that matters because the problem is not just whether a scheduler approved an absence. It is a combined HR, payroll, staffing, and retaliation-control issue that belongs in the same operating lane as paid sick leave, final pay, and CFRA leave.
Which California skilled nursing employers and employees are covered?
For jury duty and subpoena-witness leave, the coverage floor is broad. Section 12945.8 defines employer to include a person employing one or more persons, so a California skilled nursing operator should not read a 25-employee threshold into these two rights. The 25-employee threshold appears elsewhere in section 12945.8 for different violence-related leave in subdivision (b), not for jury service or subpoenaed or court-ordered witness appearances. In practice, a single-building operator, a regional group, and a public facility should all start from the same protected-time-off rule when an employee receives a summons or subpoena.
What absences are actually protected under section 12945.8?
Two protected events matter here. First, an employer may not discharge or discriminate against an employee for taking time off to serve on an inquest or trial jury. Second, an employer may not discharge, discriminate, or retaliate against an employee for taking time off to comply with a subpoena or other court order as a witness in a judicial proceeding. For a SNF, that means the issue is broader than classic jury service. A compelled witness appearance can affect CNAs, licensed nurses, business-office staff, department heads, and administrators just as easily as court service does.
California SNF workflow: jury-duty and subpoena-witness leave at a glance
| Question | Operational answer for a California SNF |
|---|---|
| Who is covered? | California employers with one or more employees for jury service and subpoena/court-order witness leave under Government Code section 12945.8(a)(1)-(2). |
| What events are protected? | Time off for jury service, and time off to comply with a subpoena or other court order as a witness in a judicial proceeding. |
| Is the leave protected from discipline? | Yes. The core risk is discharge, discrimination, or retaliation tied to the protected absence. |
| Must the time be paid? | Not as a general statewide rule for all employees. Payroll treatment depends on leave-bank election and, for exempt employees, federal salary-basis limits on deductions. |
| Can the employee use paid leave? | Yes. Available vacation, personal leave, paid sick leave, or compensatory time off may be used, subject to any applicable CBA terms. |
| Can staffing hardship excuse jury service? | No. Employer inconvenience is not an adequate ground for excusal, though deferral or postponement may be possible through the court process. |
| What records should HR keep? | Summons, subpoena or court order, employee notice, scheduling changes, leave-bank election, payroll coding, and any discipline hold or manager communication. |
| Where do current claims go? | Current retaliation or discrimination claims run through FEHA and the Civil Rights Department, while older Labor Code section 230 issues are limited to alleged conduct on or before December 31, 2024. |
Does a California SNF have to pay an employee for jury duty or a subpoenaed witness appearance?
Not as a general statewide rule for every employee. The safer approach is to separate protected time off from pay treatment. Federal guidance says the FLSA does not generally require payment for time not worked, including jury duty. The main payroll exception is the exempt employee. If a salaried exempt employee performs any work in the week, the employer generally cannot deduct salary for absences caused by jury duty or witness service, although jury or witness fees may be offset. For nonexempt staff, pay usually turns on hours worked plus any leave bank the employee elects to use, not on a blanket statewide jury-pay rule.
Can the employee use PTO or paid sick leave for the absence?
Yes, if the bank is available. Section 12945.8 allows an employee to use vacation, personal leave, paid sick leave, or compensatory time off for the protected absence unless a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise. DLSE guidance also states that California paid sick leave may be used for jury duty and for appearing in court under subpoena or court order. For a skilled nursing operator, the operational question is less about permission and more about process: did the employee elect a leave bank, did HR record that election, and did payroll code the time the same way?
- Ask for the employee’s leave-bank election in writing or record it in a dated HR note.
- Code jury-duty or subpoena-witness time separately from ordinary call-off categories.
- Check any union contract before applying a standard PTO or sick-leave workflow.
- For exempt roles, review salary-deduction rules before making a payroll change.
- Reconcile payroll coding before close, especially if the employee worked other shifts in the same week.
How should a SNF handle notice from the employee when the sources do not fully match?
This is the main area where operators should stay cautious. The current statutory text in section 12945.8(a)(1), as amended by AB 406, does not contain the older reasonable-notice clause for jury service. But current CRD and DIR guidance pages still refer to jury-duty protection with reasonable notice. Because those official sources are not fully harmonized, a SNF should still request prompt notice and a copy of the summons, but should not assume that imperfect advance notice automatically defeats protection. If discipline is being considered because of timing rather than the underlying absence, that decision should move out of the scheduler’s inbox and into HR review.
The practical rule is to request prompt notice and documentation, but not to turn a notice ambiguity into a same-day disciplinary decision.
Can a facility deny the absence because staffing is too tight?
Not for jury service based on ordinary employer inconvenience. California court rules state that inconvenience to an employer is not an adequate reason to excuse a prospective juror, although it may be considered for deferral. That distinction matters in skilled nursing, where the absent employee may be a CNA on a thin weekend schedule, a charge nurse, or a department head. The lawful response is not to direct the employee to skip service. It is to support deferral or postponement when the court process allows it, while separately fixing coverage through scheduling, overtime review, and backup staffing plans. That is the same control mindset operators use in California overtime workflows.
What notices and postings should HR update?
Section 12945.8 requires written-rights distribution at hire, annually, on request, and when an employee says they or a family member is a victim under the broader statute. CRD has posted model materials and employment publications for that notice process. Even if the immediate issue is only jury duty or subpoenaed witness leave, the notice obligation sits inside the larger section 12945.8 framework. For a SNF, that means handbook updates, new-hire packets, annual notice distribution, and poster audits should be handled centrally rather than left to each building. If you recently refreshed other California leave notices, such as bereavement leave, this belongs in the same review cycle.
Where do current retaliation or discrimination claims go after the 2025 change?
For current jury-duty and subpoena-witness retaliation issues, the active enforcement path is FEHA through the California Civil Rights Department, not the ordinary DLSE Labor Code retaliation route that many operators still associate with section 230. Labor Code section 230 was reinstated only for alleged actions or inactions occurring on or before December 31, 2024. For 2025 and 2026 events, a skilled nursing employer should assume the FEHA framework controls. Operationally, that means attendance points, write-ups, shift removals, comments about reliability, and schedule penalties tied to a protected absence all deserve the same review discipline as a termination decision.
What records should a skilled nursing operator keep to defend the workflow?
Keep the records that match the legal trigger and the payroll decision. At minimum, retain the jury summons, subpoena, or court order; the employee’s notice to the facility; scheduling changes; the leave-bank election; payroll coding; and any manager instruction about attendance, coverage, or discipline. If there was a dispute about timing, keep the messages and supervisor notes instead of relying on memory. The legal question is usually not whether someone remembers the event. It is whether the building can show what the event was, what leave treatment the employee chose, how the time was paid or unpaid, and whether any adverse action was tied to the protected absence.
What is the cleanest step-by-step workflow for a California SNF?
Use a short repeatable process. First, collect the summons, subpoena, or court order and confirm the dates. Second, document the employee’s notice and any request for deferral support. Third, determine whether the employee wants to use vacation, personal leave, paid sick leave, or compensatory time off. Fourth, check exempt versus nonexempt payroll treatment before deductions or offsets are entered. Fifth, hold any attendance points or discipline tied to the absence until HR reviews the protected-leave issue. Sixth, save the notice, coding, and manager communications in one file. Facilities already using wage-and-hour audit prep practices will recognize the pattern: one event, one owner, one record, and no off-the-books manager decision-making.
