Washington Supreme Court: No minimum wage for jurors

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Washington Supreme Court says people are not entitled to make minimum wage for jury duty.

Three citizens who reported for jury duty or who served on juries filed a class-action lawsuit against King County, challenging their $10-a-day pay.

In an 8-1 decision Thursday, the court found that because of the civic obligations involved jury duty is not traditional employment subject to the Minimum Wage Act.

The court acknowledged that the failure to pay adequately could make it more difficult for low-income workers to participate in jury duty and that it is one of the reasons people often skip jury duty, but the majority said those are issues for the Legislature.