An employee in Newfoundland and Labrador is scheduled to work the following hours: Monday - 8 hours; Tuesday - 7 hours; Wednesday - 8 hours; Thursday - 6 hours; Friday - 8 hours. This employee has been summoned for jury duty on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. How many hours should the employer pay this employee while they are on jury duty?

• A. 21 hours at regular rate
• B. 18 hours at regular rate
• C. 24 hours at regular rate
• D. 19 hours at regular rate

Answer: (A)

In Newfoundland and Labrador, when an employee is called for jury duty, the employer must pay the employee their regular wages for the time they would have worked, even though they are serving on jury duty. The government provides a separate jury duty allowance, but the employer’s obligation is to cover the hours the employee would have worked during those jury days. Here, the employee was scheduled to work 7 hours on Tuesday, 8 hours on Wednesday, and 6 hours on Thursday. That adds up to 7 + 8 + 6 = 21 hours. Therefore, the employer should pay 21 hours at the regular rate. Monday and Friday are unaffected, so they’re not included.