(WSVN) - If you’re lucky, jury duty is a simple, one-day process. But for some, the process can turn into days — or even weeks. That’s why one Florida senator believes jurors should be getting paid the minimum wage.
According to the Miami New Times, Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez (D-FL) has proposed a bill to raise juror pay to match Florida’s minimum wage of $8.10 an hour.
His bill, SB 1606, would mean a base pay rate for jurors of around $65 a day.
“I just think that it just makes the state look cheap,” Rodriguez, an attorney, says of the current pay. “People are working hard and people are doing their part of the civic duty in democracy, and I don’t think they should come away with the feeling that the state is cheap.”
Under Florida’s current law, jurors are paid $15 for their first three days, but only if they’re not already being paid by an employer, according to Rodriguez. On day four, jurors get $30 a day.
While the pay rate for jurors varies by state, Rodriguez said Florida’s rate is unreasonably stingy.
“I think it’s important to send a message to jurors who are performing a really important role in maintaining our democracy and performing their civic duty that it is important to our state that you’re doing that for us.”
According to the senator, the money for his proposed bill would come from the general revenue fund.
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