Q: Terminated from my job of seven years by phone because i did not go to work once i was dismissed from jury duty
A: Your employer may be in trouble here. Alabama Code Section 12-16-8 excuses an employee called for jury duty from his or her employment "for the day or days required of him or her in serving as a juror." Alabama Code Section 12-16-8.1 prohibits an employer from discharging an employee because of his or her jury service so long as the employee "reports for work on his or her next regularly scheduled hour after being dismissed from any jury." There is a conflict here, you see. The first statute excuses you from going to work on any DAY that is required of you for jury service. This seems to excuse you for the entire jury term, because your service is required on any of the days of the term during which you are called. However, the other statute requires you to report back to work on the next HOUR that you are scheduled to work after you are 'dismissed from any jury.' A little more of the facts might help here. You should consult with an employment law attorney in your local area. If you don't have an attorney, I'll be happy to consult with you. You can find my contact information on my profile page. I don't charge for the first 30 minutes of a consultation.
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