P.R. Laws tit. 34, § 1735i
(a) Except for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s personnel and officers, any person duly summoned by a court for jury duty shall have the right to accrue the compensation for daily appearance established in the regulations. This compensation shall not be available while the person summoned is enjoying a paid leave.
(b) Any personnel or officers of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its agencies, entities or public instrumentalities, of municipal governments, as well as of state or municipal public corporations shall have the right to enjoy a leave with pay and to receive compensation from his or her employer for meals and mileage, according to the regulations of each agency, as if it were an official assignment of such personnel or officers.
(c) Any person hired by a private employer, who has been summoned for jury duty in a court, shall have the right to enjoy paid leave from his employer up to a maximum of fifteen (15) work days, and such compensation by daily appearance as established in this Section and determined through the regulations. If due to jury duty it were [sic] necessary for that person to appear before the court for a period longer than the one previously stated, the employee shall have the right to charge the time of absence during jury duty to his regular vacation leave, or to receive the per diem compensation for his appearance, established in the regulations to be approved for such purposes. What is established in this paragraph shall not affect the employee’s rights acquired through collective bargaining concerning this matter.
(d) When a person duly summoned for jury duty concludes his appearance before the court, the Court Clerk must issue a certificate with a clear indication of the time spent in that appearance indicating the days and time.
(e) To have a right to the protection offered by this chapter, the employee must inform his employer, at least five days before the date for which he has been summoned, of his need for being absent from work in order to comply with jury duty. However, the employer can be given shorter notice if the employee is prevented from complying with his obligation due to the delay with which he received his notice or because of any other justified reason. Once the employee returns to his job he must deliver the referenced certificate to his employer.
History —Sept. 27, 2003, No. 281, § 11, eff. 180 days after Sept. 27, 2003.