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INReporting time pay
Reporting time pay — sometimes called show-up pay — is compensation owed when an employee reports for a scheduled shift and is sent home early, or given far less work than scheduled. It compensates the worker for the cost of showing up: the commute, the childcare, the evening kept free for a shift that evaporated.
How it works in the United States
There is no federal requirement — under the FLSA, only hours actually worked must be paid. Reporting time pay is a state rule, and only a minority of states have one:
- California requires pay for half the scheduled shift, within set minimum and maximum hours, when an employee reports and is not put to work — and court decisions have extended this to some call-in practices.
- New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Oregon (for minors), and DC each have their own versions, with different minimum-hour guarantees and industries covered.
- Everywhere else, sending staff home early simply means paying for the time worked — though Fair Workweek ordinances add predictability pay for short-notice changes in covered cities.
The operational lesson sits upstream of the law: cutting shifts on the day is a sign the forecast and the roster disagreed. Better planning costs less than show-up pay — in money and in trust.
State wage orders and statutes (e.g., California IWC Wage Orders; NY Labor Law regulations; Mass. 454 CMR 27.04) — see your state labor department; no FLSA equivalent.
Tommy pairs demand-aware scheduling with instant team messaging, so shifts are right-sized before they start — and genuine changes reach people before they leave home.