<PAGE>   1
    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 19, 1999
                                                       Registration No. 333-____
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                            JDS UNIPHASE CORPORATION
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

<TABLE>
<S>                                                       <C>
            DELAWARE                                            94-2579683
(State or Other Jurisdiction of                              (I.R.S. Employer
Incorporation or Organization)                            Identification Number)
</TABLE>

                              163 Baypointe Parkway
                           San Jose, California 95134
           (Address of Principal Executive Office, Including Zip Code)

                                  EPITAXX, INC.
                       AMENDED AND RESTATED 1996 EMPLOYEE,
                    DIRECTOR AND CONSULTANT STOCK OPTION PLAN
                            (Full Title of the Plans)

                               Kevin N. Kalkhoven
                     Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors,
                      President and Chief Executive Officer
                            JDS Uniphase Corporation
                              163 Baypointe Parkway
                           San Jose, California 95134
                     (Name and Address of Agent for Service)

                                 (408) 434-1800
          (Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

                                    Copy to:
                               Janet Herman, Esq.
                             David P. Valenti, Esq.
                             Morrison & Foerster LLP
                               755 Page Mill Road
                           Palo Alto, California 94304

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
============================================================================================================================
                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
============================================================================================================================
                                                  PROPOSED MAXIMUM
TITLE OF SECURITIES TO       AMOUNT TO BE        OFFERING PRICE PER      PROPOSED MAXIMUM AGGREGATE         AMOUNT OF
     BE REGISTERED            REGISTERED             SHARE (1)               OFFERING PRICE (1)          REGISTRATION FEE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                             <C>                 <C>                        <C>                         <C>
Common Stock, $0.001            333,038             $188.0625                  $62,631,958.87              $17,411.68
par value per share
============================================================================================================================
</TABLE>

(1)  Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee in
     accordance with Rule 457(h) and Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act of
     1933, based upon an average of the high and low prices of JDS Uniphase
     Corporation common stock reported on the Nasdaq National Market on November
     12, 1999.


<PAGE>   2

                                     PART I

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

     The documents containing the information specified in Part 1 of Form S-8
(plan information and registrant information and employee plan annual
information) will be sent or given to employees as specified by Securities and
Exchange Commission Rule 428(b)(1). Such documents need not be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission either as part of this Registration Statement
or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424. These
documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration
Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Form S-8 (Part II hereof), taken together,
constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the
Securities Act of 1933.


                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT


ITEM 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

     The following documents filed by JDS Uniphase Corporation (the
"Registrant") with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") are
incorporated by reference herein:

     (a)  The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed as of September 1,
1999.

     (b)  The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K/A filed as of October 28,
1999, which includes audited financial statements for the Registrant's latest
fiscal year ending June 30, 1999.

     (c)  The Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 1999.

     (d)  The Registrant's Current Reports on Form 8-K filed as of July 12,
1999, October 4, 1999 and November 5, 1999.

     (e)  The Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed as of November 3,
1999.

     (f)  The description of the Registrant's Common Stock which is contained in
its Registration Statement on Form 8-A dated November 15, 1993, including any
amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

     All documents filed by the Registrant with the Commission pursuant to
Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a
post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been
sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed
to be incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be a
part hereof from the date of filing of such documents. Any statement contained
in a document incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or
superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a
statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which
also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or
supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be
deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this
Registration Statement.

                                       2

<PAGE>   3

ITEM 4. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

     Not applicable.

ITEM 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

     Not applicable.

ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

     The indemnification and liability of the Registrant's directors and
officers are governed by Delaware law.

     Under Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware,
the Registrant has broad powers to indemnify its directors and officers against
liabilities that may incur in such capacities, including liabilities under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The Registrant's
Bylaws also provide for mandatory indemnification of its directors and executive
officers, and permissive indemnification of its employees and agents, to the
fullest extent permissible under Delaware law.

     The Registrant's Certificate of Incorporation provides that the liability
of its directors for monetary damages shall be eliminated to the fullest extent
permissible under Delaware law. Pursuant to Delaware law, this includes
elimination of liability for monetary damages for breach of the directors'
fiduciary duty of care to the Registrant and its stockholders. These provisions
do not eliminate the directors' duty of care and, in appropriate circumstances,
equitable remedies such as injunctive or other forms of non-monetary relief will
remain available under Delaware law. In addition, each director will continue to
be subject to liability for breach of the director's duty of loyalty to the
Registrant for acts of omissions not in good faith or involving intentional
misconduct, for knowing violations of law, for any transaction from which the
director derived an improper personal benefit, and for payment of dividends or
approval of stock repurchases or redemptions that are unlawful under Delaware
law. The provision also does not affect a director's responsibilities under any
other laws, such as the federal securities laws or state or federal
environmental laws.

     The Registrant has entered into agreements with its directors and certain
of its executive officers that require the Registrant to indemnify such persons
against expenses, judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts actually and
reasonably incurred (including expenses of a derivative action) in connection
with any proceeding, whether actual or threatened, to which any such person may
be made a party by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or
officer of the Registrant or any of its affiliated enterprises, provided such
person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be
in or not opposed to the best interests of the Registrant and, with respect to
any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct
was unlawful. The indemnification agreement also sets forth certain procedures
that will apply in the event of a claim for indemnification thereunder.

     The Registrant has obtained a policy of directors' and officers' liability
insurance that insures the Registrant's directors and officers against the cost
of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment under certain circumstances.

ITEM 7. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

     Not Applicable.

                                       3

<PAGE>   4

ITEM 8. EXHIBITS.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
       Exhibit
       Number     Description
       -------    -----------
         <S>      <C>
         5.1      Opinion of Morrison & Foerster LLP

         23.1     Consent of Morrison & Foerster LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)

         23.2     Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors

         23.3     Consent of PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent Auditors

         25.1     Power of Attorney (contained in the signature page hereto)
</TABLE>

ITEM 9. UNDERTAKINGS.

     The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

     (i)   to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a
           post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement and to
           include any material information with respect to the plan of
           distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement
           or any material change to such information in this Registration
           Statement;

     (ii)  that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
           Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to
           be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered
           therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be
           deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof;

     (iii) to remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
           any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
           termination of the offering.

     The undersigned Registrant hereby further undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") (and, where applicable,
each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section
15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this
Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

     Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act
may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the
Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions or otherwise, the Registrant has
been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is
against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act, and is, therefore,
unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such
liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred by a
director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful
defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer
or controlling person in connection with the

                                       4

<PAGE>   5

securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its
counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court
of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is
against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by
the final adjudication of such issue.


                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant,
JDS Uniphase Corporation, certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused
this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized, in the City of San Jose, State of California, on
November 19, 1999.

                                      JDS UNIPHASE CORPORATION


                                      By: /s/ KEVIN N. KALKHOVEN
                                          ---------------------------------
                                          Kevin N. Kalkhoven
                                          Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors,
                                          President and Chief Executive Officer

                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

     Each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Kevin N.
Kalkhoven and Anthony R. Muller, and each of them, as attorneys-in-fact, each
with the power of substitution, for him in any and all capacities, to sign any
amendment to this Registration Statement and to file the same, with exhibits
thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, granting to said attorneys-in-fact, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary
to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he
might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming the said
attorney-in-fact or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to
be done by virtue hereof.

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the date indicated.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Signature                           Capacity                    Date
---------                           --------                    ----
<S>                                 <C>                         <C>
/s/ KEVIN N. KALKHOVEN              Co-Chairman of the Board    November 19, 1999
------------------------------      of Directors, President
Kevin N. Kalkhoven                  and Chief Executive
                                    Officer (Principal
                                    Executive Officer)
</TABLE>

                                       5

<PAGE>   6

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Signature                           Capacity                    Date
---------                           --------                    ----
<S>                                 <C>                         <C>
/s/ ANTHONY R. MULLER               Senior Vice President,      November 19, 1999
------------------------------      Chief Financial Officer
Anthony R. Muller                   and Secretary (Principal
                                    Financial and Accounting
                                    Officer)

/s/ BRUCE D. DAY                    Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Bruce D. Day


/s/ ROBERT E. ENOS                  Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Robert E. Enos

/s/ PETER A. GUGLIELMI              Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Peter A. Guglielmi


/s/ MARTIN A. KAPLIN                Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Martin A. Kaplin


/s/ JOHN A. MACNAUGHTON             Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
John A. MacNaughton


/s/ WILSON SIBBETT, PH.D.           Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Wilson Sibbett, Ph.D.


/s/ WILLIAM J. SINCLAIR             Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
William J. Sinclair


/s/ CASIMIR S. SKRZYPCZAK           Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Casimir S. Skrzypczak


/s/ JOZEF STRAUS, PH.D.             Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Jozef Straus, Ph.D.
</TABLE>

                                       6
<PAGE>   7



                               INDEX TO EXHIBITS



<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
       Exhibit
       Number     Description
       -------    -----------
         <S>      <C>
         5.1      Opinion of Morrison & Foerster LLP

         23.1     Consent of Morrison & Foerster LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)

         23.2     Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors

         23.3     Consent of PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent Auditors

         25.1     Power of Attorney (contained in the signature page hereto)
</TABLE>
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 18236}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "JDS UNIPHASE CORP /CA/", "cik": "0000912093", "assigned-sic": "3674", "irs-number": "942579683", "state-of-incorporation": "DE", "fiscal-year-end": "0630"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-91313", "film-number": "99761191"}, "business-address": {"street1": "163 BAYPOINTE PKWY", "city": "SAN JOSE", "state": "CA", "zip": "95134", "phone": "4084341800"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "163 BAYPOINTE PARKWAY", "city": "SAN JOSE", "state": "CA", "zip": "95134"}}
1
    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 19, 1999
                                                       Registration No. 333-____
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                            JDS UNIPHASE CORPORATION
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
DELAWARE                                            94-2579683
(State or Other Jurisdiction of                              (I.R.S. Employer
Incorporation or Organization)                            Identification Number)
163 Baypointe Parkway
                           San Jose, California 95134
           (Address of Principal Executive Office, Including Zip Code)

                                  EPITAXX, INC.
                       AMENDED AND RESTATED 1996 EMPLOYEE,
                    DIRECTOR AND CONSULTANT STOCK OPTION PLAN
                            (Full Title of the Plans)

                               Kevin N. Kalkhoven
                     Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors,
                      President and Chief Executive Officer
                            JDS Uniphase Corporation
                              163 Baypointe Parkway
                           San Jose, California 95134
                     (Name and Address of Agent for Service)

                                 (408) 434-1800
          (Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

                                    Copy to:
                               Janet Herman, Esq.
                             David P. Valenti, Esq.
                             Morrison & Foerster LLP
                               755 Page Mill Road
                           Palo Alto, California 94304
============================================================================================================================
                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
============================================================================================================================
                                                  PROPOSED MAXIMUM
TITLE OF SECURITIES TO       AMOUNT TO BE        OFFERING PRICE PER      PROPOSED MAXIMUM AGGREGATE         AMOUNT OF
     BE REGISTERED            REGISTERED             SHARE (1)               OFFERING PRICE (1)          REGISTRATION FEE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock, $0.001            333,038             $188.0625                  $62,631,958.87              $17,411.68
par value per share
============================================================================================================================
(1)  Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee in
     accordance with Rule 457(h) and Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act of
     1933, based upon an average of the high and low prices of JDS Uniphase
     Corporation common stock reported on the Nasdaq National Market on November
     12, 1999.
2

                                     PART I

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

     The documents containing the information specified in Part 1 of Form S-8
(plan information and registrant information and employee plan annual
information) will be sent or given to employees as specified by Securities and
Exchange Commission Rule 428(b)(1). Such documents need not be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission either as part of this Registration Statement
or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424. These
documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration
Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Form S-8 (Part II hereof), taken together,
constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the
Securities Act of 1933.

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

     The following documents filed by JDS Uniphase Corporation (the
"Registrant") with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") are
incorporated by reference herein:

     (a)  The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed as of September 1,
1999.

     (b)  The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K/A filed as of October 28,
1999, which includes audited financial statements for the Registrant's latest
fiscal year ending June 30, 1999.

     (c)  The Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 1999.

     (d)  The Registrant's Current Reports on Form 8-K filed as of July 12,
1999, October 4, 1999 and November 5, 1999.

     (e)  The Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed as of November 3,
1999.

     (f)  The description of the Registrant's Common Stock which is contained in
its Registration Statement on Form 8-A dated November 15, 1993, including any
amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

     All documents filed by the Registrant with the Commission pursuant to
Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a
post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been
sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed
to be incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be a
part hereof from the date of filing of such documents. Any statement contained
in a document incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or
superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a
statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which
also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or
supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be
deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this
Registration Statement.

                                       2
3

ITEM 4. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

     Not applicable.

ITEM 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

     Not applicable.

ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

     The indemnification and liability of the Registrant's directors and
officers are governed by Delaware law.

     Under Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware,
the Registrant has broad powers to indemnify its directors and officers against
liabilities that may incur in such capacities, including liabilities under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The Registrant's
Bylaws also provide for mandatory indemnification of its directors and executive
officers, and permissive indemnification of its employees and agents, to the
fullest extent permissible under Delaware law.

     The Registrant's Certificate of Incorporation provides that the liability
of its directors for monetary damages shall be eliminated to the fullest extent
permissible under Delaware law. Pursuant to Delaware law, this includes
elimination of liability for monetary damages for breach of the directors'
fiduciary duty of care to the Registrant and its stockholders. These provisions
do not eliminate the directors' duty of care and, in appropriate circumstances,
equitable remedies such as injunctive or other forms of non-monetary relief will
remain available under Delaware law. In addition, each director will continue to
be subject to liability for breach of the director's duty of loyalty to the
Registrant for acts of omissions not in good faith or involving intentional
misconduct, for knowing violations of law, for any transaction from which the
director derived an improper personal benefit, and for payment of dividends or
approval of stock repurchases or redemptions that are unlawful under Delaware
law. The provision also does not affect a director's responsibilities under any
other laws, such as the federal securities laws or state or federal
environmental laws.

     The Registrant has entered into agreements with its directors and certain
of its executive officers that require the Registrant to indemnify such persons
against expenses, judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts actually and
reasonably incurred (including expenses of a derivative action) in connection
with any proceeding, whether actual or threatened, to which any such person may
be made a party by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or
officer of the Registrant or any of its affiliated enterprises, provided such
person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be
in or not opposed to the best interests of the Registrant and, with respect to
any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct
was unlawful. The indemnification agreement also sets forth certain procedures
that will apply in the event of a claim for indemnification thereunder.

     The Registrant has obtained a policy of directors' and officers' liability
insurance that insures the Registrant's directors and officers against the cost
of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment under certain circumstances.

ITEM 7. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

     Not Applicable.

                                       3
4

ITEM 8. EXHIBITS.
Exhibit
       Number     Description
       -------    -----------
5.1      Opinion of Morrison & Foerster LLP

         23.1     Consent of Morrison & Foerster LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)

         23.2     Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors

         23.3     Consent of PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent Auditors

         25.1     Power of Attorney (contained in the signature page hereto)
ITEM 9. UNDERTAKINGS.

     The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

     (i)   to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a
           post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement and to
           include any material information with respect to the plan of
           distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement
           or any material change to such information in this Registration
           Statement;

     (ii)  that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
           Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to
           be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered
           therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be
           deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof;

     (iii) to remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
           any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
           termination of the offering.

     The undersigned Registrant hereby further undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") (and, where applicable,
each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section
15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this
Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

     Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act
may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the
Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions or otherwise, the Registrant has
been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is
against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act, and is, therefore,
unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such
liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred by a
director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful
defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer
or controlling person in connection with the

                                       4
5

securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its
counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court
of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is
against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by
the final adjudication of such issue.

                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant,
JDS Uniphase Corporation, certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe
that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused
this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized, in the City of San Jose, State of California, on
November 19, 1999.

                                      JDS UNIPHASE CORPORATION

                                      By: /s/ KEVIN N. KALKHOVEN
                                          ---------------------------------
                                          Kevin N. Kalkhoven
                                          Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors,
                                          President and Chief Executive Officer

                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

     Each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Kevin N.
Kalkhoven and Anthony R. Muller, and each of them, as attorneys-in-fact, each
with the power of substitution, for him in any and all capacities, to sign any
amendment to this Registration Statement and to file the same, with exhibits
thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, granting to said attorneys-in-fact, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary
to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he
might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming the said
attorney-in-fact or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to
be done by virtue hereof.

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the date indicated.
Signature                           Capacity                    Date
---------                           --------                    ----
/s/ KEVIN N. KALKHOVEN              Co-Chairman of the Board    November 19, 1999
------------------------------      of Directors, President
Kevin N. Kalkhoven                  and Chief Executive
                                    Officer (Principal
                                    Executive Officer)
5
6
Signature                           Capacity                    Date
---------                           --------                    ----
/s/ ANTHONY R. MULLER               Senior Vice President,      November 19, 1999
------------------------------      Chief Financial Officer
Anthony R. Muller                   and Secretary (Principal
                                    Financial and Accounting
                                    Officer)

/s/ BRUCE D. DAY                    Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Bruce D. Day

/s/ ROBERT E. ENOS                  Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Robert E. Enos

/s/ PETER A. GUGLIELMI              Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Peter A. Guglielmi

/s/ MARTIN A. KAPLIN                Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Martin A. Kaplin

/s/ JOHN A. MACNAUGHTON             Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
John A. MacNaughton

/s/ WILSON SIBBETT, PH.D.           Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Wilson Sibbett, Ph.D.

/s/ WILLIAM J. SINCLAIR             Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
William J. Sinclair

/s/ CASIMIR S. SKRZYPCZAK           Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Casimir S. Skrzypczak

/s/ JOZEF STRAUS, PH.D.             Director                    November 19, 1999
------------------------------
Jozef Straus, Ph.D.
6
7

                               INDEX TO EXHIBITS
Exhibit
       Number     Description
       -------    -----------
5.1      Opinion of Morrison & Foerster LLP

         23.1     Consent of Morrison & Foerster LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)

         23.2     Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors

         23.3     Consent of PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent Auditors

         25.1     Power of Attorney (contained in the signature page hereto)