An employee who requested time off work while serving on a murder trial jury was threatened by a Sydney vintage clothes store, and the business was found guilty of this offence.
Magistrate Scott Nash characterised the historic ruling as “novel,” noting that it was presumably the first case involving an employer intimidating a juror.
The woman—who cannot be identified for legal reasons—was summoned to testify in a murder trial before the NSW Supreme Court that took place between February and April of 2023.
She had been scheduled to work three of every four weekends at the inner-west shop during the eight-week trial, but the trial judge recommended her to take the weekends off in order to handle the violent case.
Today, the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney convicted the employer guilty on two counts of threatening to change or “injure” an employee called for jury duty.
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According to Nash, the actions were “inexcusable” and the threats seriously compromised the Jury Act.
The boss of the business wrote the woman to inform her that she had violated company rules by not working her regular hours, even though the woman had received two letters from the judge directing her to rest over the weekend.
Upon her return to work, she was given a letter alerting her to a disciplinary hearing that was scheduled to take place and that she would either receive a warning or be fired.
Resigning, the woman informed the court that she believed she was being wrongfully punished.
The store’s attorney contended at a previous hearing that the juror would have been entitled to sufficient rest time as they would have left court at 4 p.m. on a Friday and started work at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
However, the prosecution contended that the woman’s mental exhaustion necessitated her taking a leave of absence.
Threatening an employee who has been called for jury duty may result in a fine of up to $22,000 and a maximum sentence of 12 months in jail. November 19 is when the sentencing is scheduled to occur.
