Section 12-16-8.1Discharge of employee on jury duty forbidden; when employee must return to work; employee's cause of action upon discharge; damages; provision supplemental to other law.
(a) No employer in this state may discharge any employee solely because he serves on any jury empanelled under any state or federal statute; provided, however, that the employee reports for work on his next regularly scheduled hour after being dismissed from any jury.
(b) Any employee who is so discharged shall have a cause of action against the employer for said discharge in any court of competent jurisdiction in this state and shall be entitled to recover both actual and punitive damages.
(c) The provisions of this section are supplemental to any statutes, existing or to be enacted in the future, that are designed to protect and safeguard a citizen's right and duty to serve on a lawful jury, and the provisions of this section shall not repeal or supersede the provisions of any law not directly inconsistent herewith.
(Acts 1980, No. 80-747, p. 1520.)
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