diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index 366b326c390..4ac7e39bf85 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -35,7 +35,6 @@ group(:features) do
   # requires native ldap headers/libs
   # gem 'ruby-ldap', '~> 0.9', require: false, platforms: [:ruby]
   gem 'puppetserver-ca', '~> 2.0', require: false
-  gem 'syslog', '~> 0.1.1', require: false, platforms: [:ruby]
   gem 'CFPropertyList', ['>= 3.0.6', '< 4'], require: false
 end
 
diff --git a/puppet.gemspec b/puppet.gemspec
index 4b922adb31f..78d4d092f70 100644
--- a/puppet.gemspec
+++ b/puppet.gemspec
@@ -37,9 +37,12 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
     spec.add_runtime_dependency('CFPropertyList', ['>= 3.0.6', '< 4'])
   end
 
-  if platform == 'x64-mingw32' || platform == 'x86-mingw32'
+  if (platform == 'x64-mingw32' || platform == 'x86-mingw32') || Gem.win_platform?
     # ffi 1.16.0 - 1.16.2 are broken on Windows
     spec.add_runtime_dependency('ffi', '>= 1.15.5', '< 1.17.0', '!= 1.16.0', '!= 1.16.1', '!= 1.16.2')
     spec.add_runtime_dependency('minitar', '~> 0.9')
+  elsif !Gem.java_platform?
+    # don't depend on syslog on jruby, it requires extensions
+    spec.add_runtime_dependency('syslog', '~> 0.1.2')
   end
 end