Jury Duty Pay in Connecticut

About Jury Duty in Connecticut

Connecticut overhauled juror compensation via Public Act 24-137, effective October 1, 2024 — replacing fixed dollar rates with a tie to the state minimum wage. State-paid jurors now receive $16.94 per hour (the 2026 minimum wage), equating to $135.52 per day — a 2.7× increase from the prior $50/day flat rate. Connecticut’s 5-day employer mandate remains the longest in the country.

How Jury Pay Works

The structure has two phases, now governed by PA 24-137 (amending Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-247):

Days 1-5: Full-time employees (30+ hrs/week, not temporary/casual) receive regular wages from their employer. All other jurors — part-time, unemployed, self-employed — are paid by the state at Connecticut’s minimum wage ($16.94/hr = $135.52/day) plus expense reimbursement for family care, mileage at the GSA rate (~$0.70/mile), and parking. Under the old law, these jurors received only $20–$50/day in expense reimbursement.

Day 6 onward: The state pays minimum wage ($135.52/day) for all jurors regardless of employment status. The employer obligation ends after day 5. Mileage and expense reimbursement continue throughout.

The minimum-wage rate is indexed annually to the Employment Cost Index — it adjusts each January 1. The $16.94/hr rate took effect January 1, 2026 (up from $16.35 in 2025).

The Five-Day Employer Mandate

Connecticut’s five-day employer obligation is the longest in the country, exceeding New York’s 3-day mandate, Massachusetts’s 3-day mandate, and Colorado’s 3-day mandate. Because most Connecticut trials last 3-5 days, the vast majority of empaneled full-time employees are fully covered by employer-paid wages for the entire trial. The state’s $135.52/day rate is effectively a supplement on top of regular pay for most of the trial.

For trials exceeding five days, the state takes over at $135.52/day. While this represents a drop from regular wages for higher-earning jurors, it is dramatically better than the old $50/day rate — and exceeds what most other states pay at any tier.

Connecticut’s Unified Court System

Connecticut has a unified state court system rather than county-based administration, which is unusual. The Judicial Branch operates jury management centrally, with jury assembly facilities at judicial district courthouses in Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, Waterbury, and other locations. This centralization means consistent policies statewide — a contrast with states like Texas or California, where jury operations vary dramatically by county.

Employer Obligations

Connecticut’s combined protections — 5-day employer-paid regular wages for full-time employees, followed by state minimum-wage pay ($135.52/day) — make it arguably the most juror-friendly state in the country from a pure compensation standpoint. Employers who fail to pay wages face both civil liability and potential court sanctions. For part-time and self-employed jurors, the 2024 reform was transformative: going from $20–$50/day expense reimbursement to $135.52/day represents a fundamental shift in who can afford to serve.

How Connecticut Compares

Connecticut now sits in the very top tier nationally. Only New York at $72/day has a nominally higher flat state rate, but Connecticut’s minimum-wage tie ($135.52/day for days 6+) exceeds New York’s rate by nearly 2×. Massachusetts pays $50/day from day 4 with a 3-day employer mandate. Federal jurors in Connecticut’s single district receive $50/day — less than 40% of Connecticut’s state rate for longer trials, making Connecticut one of the rare states where state court pays substantially more than federal.

Statute: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-247 (as amended by Public Act 24-137, effective Oct 1, 2024) — Official source