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SC · jury-duty pay

Jury duty pay in South Carolina

What happens to your pay and your job if you're summoned in South Carolina — with the statute behind each answer. Verified against a primary source on June 16, 2026.

At a glance

Employer payNo state employer-pay mandate
Job protectionProtected
Court per-diemVaries
Status Verified

JurorPay summarizes state-by-state jury-duty pay rules and job-protection statutes. This is procedural civic-duty information, not legal advice. Statutes change; verify directly with your state court, employer HR, or a licensed attorney before relying on this summary.

Not required

Will your employer pay you?

In South Carolina, no state law requires your employer to pay your wages during jury service (federal law protects your job, not your pay). Employer liable in a civil action for dismissing or demoting an employee for jury service (damages capped at one year's salary for dismissal). Not required to pay wages during service.

Primary source · verified June 16, 2026

No state mandate

How much, and for how long?

No state-mandated employer pay. You may still be paid voluntarily, under a contract, or under a collective-bargaining agreement — check your employer's policy. The court pays a separate per-diem (see the court-pay card).

Primary source · verified June 16, 2026

Protected

Can you be fired for serving?

Your job is statutorily protected. South Carolina law prohibits firing, threatening, or penalizing you for responding to a jury summons or serving. Federal law (28 U.S.C. §1875) adds the same protection for federal-court service.

Primary source · verified June 16, 2026

Varies

What does the court pay you?

Per-diem is set county-by-county in the statute (archaic amounts ranging roughly $2 to $12.50/day depending on county); baseline mileage 5 cents/mile (some counties differ, e.g., Berkeley 10 cents/mile). Counties commonly pay more in practice.

Primary source · verified June 16, 2026

Editor's note on this state

Protection (41-1-70) and per-diem statute (14-7-1370) both confirmed via official scstatehouse.gov. court_per_diem_petit_usd left null because 14-7-1370 sets different amounts per county (no single statewide figure); the often-cited '$25 circuit court' is a county practice, not the statutory minimum.

Sources for South Carolina

Each figure links to the primary source we read it from. The federal baseline is 28 U.S.C. §1875 — it protects your job during federal-court service but does not require pay.

How South Carolina compares on court per-diem

Court-paid daily fee, ranked across all states with a single statewide figure. South Carolina is highlighted.

Petit-juror per-diem paid by the court (first/standard day), ranked. 9 jurisdictions set per-diem locally (county-by-county or pegged to minimum wage) with no single statewide figure, and are omitted here rather than shown as a guessed amount. Where a state pays a higher rate for extended service, this chart shows the standard day rate. See each state page for the full schedule and citation.

Other states with similar rules

Check another state

Same answer, any jurisdiction.

51 jurisdictions — all 50 states + the District of Columbia.

Editorial review

An employment attorney from our review pool is being onboarded to sign off on the jury-leave and anti-retaliation summaries. Until that review is complete, every figure on the site links directly to the state legislature or court primary source so you can verify it yourself. We will publish the reviewer's name, bar number, state, and profile here once secured — and never a placeholder name.