Jury Duty coincides with start of new job... help!

[Double J]

I received a summons for jury duty earlier this month. The date listed on the summons is June 9th. The way it works here is that you're "on call" for two weeks beginning on that particular date. You have to keep calling in the night before to see if they need you to report to jury duty during the full duration of the two week period.

 

I've been searching for a job for months and I got a call today from an employer saying they want to offer me the job. They want me to start on the 16th of June, which is a bit of a problem. What happens if I am not to report until the week I'm supposed to start work?

 

I really want to do anything I can to avoid having to report to jury duty the same week I'm starting a new job. Geez, my luck that they decide to call me during the same time I receive an offer.

 

I'm not sure if they'd let me postpone for at least 2-3 months. I really don't want to look bad in front of this employer.

 

What should I do?

[thejigsup]

The law says you have to do your jury duty unless you have a valid excues, which can be hard to get. Play it by ear and let your new employer know what is going on. Most employers are pretty understanding about jury duty if they know beforehand.

[Mythical_Suicide]

A job is a valid excuse to get out of jury duty. You just need to contact whoever you're supposed to talk to about the jury duty and tell them the situation, you're supposed to start a new job on 'this date' and can't put it off because you really need a job. They should be able to work with you on either postponing your jury duty or just writing you off.

[Gracelove]

When you go up for jury duty, make them believe you are a very close-minded person. You need to become someone they don't want sitting on the jury.

[greywolf]

Usually you can postpone your jury duty if you request it.