Wyoming — Leave Laws

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides the primary job-protected leave entitlement for Wyoming employees. Eligible employees at covered employers may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for a serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, for childbirth or adoption, or for qualifying military exigencies. FMLA applies to private employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles and to all public agencies. Employees must have worked for the covered employer at least 12 months and 1,250 hours in the preceding 12 months to qualify.

Source: U.S. DOL — Family and Medical Leave Act

Wyoming does not require employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave to employees. Whether workers receive sick time—and on what terms—is determined entirely by employer policy, employment contracts, or collective bargaining agreements. Employers who voluntarily establish a sick leave policy are bound by that policy's terms under Wyoming contract law. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act remains the primary unpaid leave protection for eligible workers with serious health conditions.

Source: Wyoming Department of Workforce Services — Paid Sick & Quarantine Leave

Wyoming employers must provide unpaid leave to employees who are summoned for jury service or who attend court in connection with jury duty, and the statute prohibits any adverse employment action based on that attendance. Wyo. Stat. § 1-11-401(a) makes it unlawful for an employer to "discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate or coerce any employee by reason of the employee's jury service, for the attendance or scheduled attendance in connection with jury service, in any court in the state of Wyoming." This protection extends to both the actual service on a jury and the preliminary jury-selection process (voir dire); the statute's language "attendance or scheduled attendance in connection with jury service" covers summons compliance and court appearances even when the employee is not ultimately seated on a jury.

Wyoming law does not require employers to pay employees during jury duty. The leave obligation is unpaid, and whether an employee receives compensation during jury service depends entirely on employer policy or collective bargaining agreements. Employers may, however, be subject to federal Fair Labor Standards Act constraints on deductions from the salary of exempt (salaried) employees; the FLSA generally prohibits docking an exempt employee's salary for absences due to jury duty, though an employer may offset any jury fees the employee receives.

Employer liability for violations

An employer who violates § 1-11-401 by retaliating against an employee for jury service faces three categories of liability under subsection (b):

1. Injunctive relief and reinstatement — A court may enjoin the employer from further violations and order "other appropriate relief," expressly including reinstatement of the terminated or demoted employee.

1. Exemplary damages — The employer is liable for exemplary (punitive) damages "in an amount set by the court, but not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each violation as to each employee." The $1,000 cap applies per violation per employee; if an employer retaliates against multiple employees, each incurs a separate damages exposure.

1. Costs and attorney's fees — The prevailing employee is entitled to recover "reasonable costs and attorney's fees, as set by the court, in enforcing his rights" under the statute. This fee-shifting provision reduces the financial barrier to bringing a claim.

Reinstatement as furlough or leave of absence

Wyo. Stat. § 1-11-401(c) specifies that an employee who is reinstated "shall be considered as having been on furlough or leave of absence during his period of jury service" and must be restored to the position held before jury service "without loss of seniority." The statute thus treats the jury-service period as continuous employment for purposes of seniority, benefits accrual, and other tenure-based rights, ensuring that retaliation remedies make the employee whole not only in terms of job title but also in terms of standing within the workplace.

Statute of limitations

Wyo. Stat. § 1-11-401(d) requires that an employee bring suit "within six (6) months after the date of the alleged violation." This limitations period is significantly shorter than the general tort or contract statute of limitations; an employee who delays more than six months loses the statutory remedy entirely. The clock starts on "the date of the alleged violation" — typically the date of discharge, demotion, or other adverse action, not the date of jury service itself.

Wyoming's jury duty leave law establishes a clear anti-retaliation floor but imposes no affirmative paid-leave requirement. Employers who maintain attendance or leave policies should ensure those policies explicitly accommodate jury duty and train supervisors that any adverse treatment of employees summoned for jury service triggers both injunctive exposure and fee-shifting liability.

Source: Wyo. Stat. § 1-11-401 (Title 1, Code of Civil Procedure, Ch. 11, Art. 4)