Canadian HR Reporter

Saskatchewan boosts pay for jurors to $110 daily for civil and criminal cases Reimbursement process for employees on juries not easy for payroll practitioners as they may not be aware of how to make adjustment with reimbursement, says expert BY MARCEL VANDER WIER I n August, the Saskatchewan government implemented a pay raise for jurors, along- side a pledge to reimburse costs for care of dependants. Jurors in the prairie province will now receive $110 daily for serving on both civil and criminal juries. Previously, they received $15 per day for civil trials and $80 for criminal trials. Further financial aid for depen- dant care includes a maximum of $40 per day for child-care ex- penses and up to $80 per day for elder- or other dependant-care expenses. "Being a juror is an important civic duty, and these changes will ensure everyone has an equal op- portunity to perform this duty, regardless of their financial cir- cumstances," said Saskatchewan Minister of Justice and Attorney General Don Morgan. Saskatchewan's move is a step in the right direction, says Dirk Derstine, criminal lawyer at Der- stine Penman in Toronto. "For your average working per- son, [$110] is not huge, but it's not totally ridiculous," he says. "Would I like to see it higher? Sure. Is it a whole lot better than $2 a day to start? Yes, it is." Inconsistent compensation across the country Compensation for jurors across Canada is generally low and differs widely, says Michael Armstrong, a business professor at Brock Uni- versity in St. Catharines, Ont. "There is a wide variation across the country," he says. "Most provinces are not compen- sating their jurors appropriately. Most provinces do not even pay minimum wage." Last year, a House of Commons committee encouraged all prov- inces and territories to provide jurors with a daily allowance of at least $120. In principle, underfunding jurors for completing their civic duty is medieval and unjust, says Armstrong. Practically, it can often lead to unbalanced juries, as judges may excuse potential jurors who won't receive reimbursement from their employer. That often includes minimum-wage workers, small business owners and senior man- agers integral to company success, he says. "If their employer doesn't give them court leave — jury pay — then the judges tend to exclude them because they know it will be a financial hardship," says Armstrong. "What you end up having is ju- ries largely composed of people who have unionized and/or gov- ernment, middle-class kind of jobs, because those people [typi- cally] have [court leave] in their contract." Trials extending past two months often end up with juries of unemployed people or em- ployees who receive jury pay, as three-quarters of potential jurors will ask to be excused — citing financial hardship, says Derstine. "It's a strangely unrepresenta- tive jury," he says. "If nobody was asking for fi- nancial hardship, it would be a lot faster to pick a jury." Newfoundland and Labrador is the lone province that requires employers to pay workers while they serve on a jury, act as a wit- ness in a court case or take part in a public inquiry. According to the provincial Jury Act, Newfoundland and Lab- rador employers must continue to provide the same wages and ben- efits to staff summoned to serve in court. "e individual is not penal- ized," says Armstrong. "Instead, the employer gets penalized. It's like an extra tax suddenly put on the employer, at random." Quebec's juror compensation is also a bright light in the country, he says, with immediate compen- sation of $103 per day — along- side perks such as meals and park- ing — with an increase in pay if the trial goes long. Payroll frustrations around adjustments Employers are required to give employees time off to fulfil jury duty without reprisal, according to Karima Balfoul, payroll com- pliance adviser at the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) in Toronto. While some employers choose to continue to pay employees for their time in court, it is not a re- quirement, she says. Employees who continue to receive regular compensation are required to submit any payments received from the courts to their employer, as double dipping is for- bidden, says Balfoul. e reimbursement process is a pain in the side of payroll prac- titioners, she says. "Frustration comes into play when there's a reimbursement," says Balfoul, noting that many payroll professionals may not be aware of how to make the adjustment. "It's not something that they do on a daily basis, so they have to check or call the CPA to make sure that they're compliant. "Sometimes, employees, they don't give the cheque back to the employer." In general, the Canada Rev- enue Agency instructs employers to provide a letter to employees detailing reimbursement totals, which is filed alongside personal income tax, says Balfoul. For employees who are serv- ing as jurors on an extended trial without reimbursement from their employer, an ROE (record of em- ployment) may need to be issued to denote the interruption in earn- ings, she says. In Quebec, the reimbursement must be made using the R-1 slip, identifying the amount via code A-3. Advice for employers e lack of movement on this is- sue is likely due to the rarity of the request and its subsequent mini- mal effect on the electoral pro- cess, according to Derstine. "e more the government pays into these things, the less they have for other things; the more they have to raise taxes," he says. "By and large, it's not even an electoral issue at all. I think that's a chronic reason for underfunding in criminal law." And while many corporate en- tities do maintain wages for em- ployees selected to serve on a jury, if more followed suit, the judicial system would be better off for it, says Derstine. It's not a major financial bur- den and employers that top up employees are considered good corporate citizens, he says. "Trial by jury is enshrined in the charter of rights and is a very im- portant thing for all Canadians," says Derstine. "It's a little bit like an act of God. ere aren't very many people on anybody's payroll who will be on jury duty at the same time, so it's not going to be a gigantic financial hardship." But shifting the burden on to employers won't necessarily fix the problem, according to Arm- strong, who says he would pre- fer to see employers collectively lobby government toward a pol- icy shift. "It would kind of be a trade-off," he says. "From the employees' point of view, it would certainly be beneficial if the employer would cover it, because that would allow them to do their duty without suf- fering a financial loss individually. But, obviously then, that transfers the costs to the employer." e decision to top up salary for jury duty does help in terms of employee retention and is worthy of consideration by the human resources department, accord- ing to Balfoul. "From an HR perspective, the policy will state whether to pay it or not and how the reimburse- ment will be done or required." OCTOBER 2019 14 NEWS "ere aren't many people on anybody's payroll who will be on jury duty at the same time, so it's not going to be a gigantic financial hardship." Jurors in Saskatchewan will now receive $110 daily for serving in both civil and criminal cases. Previously, they received $15 and $80, respectively. Credit: sirtravelalot (shutterstock) Jury pay across Canada Every jurisdiction in Canada compensates jurors differently: Alberta: $50 per day plus reimbursement for reasonable travel and accommodation expenses. British Columbia: $20 for the first 10 days; $60 for day 11 to 49; and $100 for day 50 and following, plus limited expense reimbursements for travel, parking and child care. Manitoba: $30 a day after 10 days. New Brunswick: Jurors receive $20 for a half day (less than four hours) and $40 for a full day. If the trial goes past 10 days, those payments double. Newfoundland and Labrador: If employed, jurors continue to receive full wages and benefits. Northwest Territories: $80 a day. Nova Scotia: Jurors receive $40 a day, plus parking, and 20 cents per kilometre to travel to court. Ontario: No reimbursement, aside from out-of-town travel fees, until day 11 of jury duty, when a daily stipend of $40 is enacted. At day 50, jurors receive $100 per day. P.E.I.: $40 a day, plus travel costs payable at the government employee rate. Quebec: $103 per day, until day 57, when it increases to $160. Jurors are also entitled to 43 cents per kilometre and limited parking and meal expenses. Saskatchewan: $110 a day, plus limited reimbursement for travel, parking, accommodation and care for dependants. Yukon: $80 per day, plus limited reimbursement for travel, melas and accommodation.

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