Reporting Time Pay (Show-Up Pay) by State: 2026 Rules

By Nicole Hullihen, former SaaS Chief Operating Officer and Microsoft MVP · Updated October 12, 2026

Quick Answer

Reporting time pay, or show-up pay, is minimum pay owed when an employee reports for a scheduled shift and is sent home early or given no work. Federal law doesn't require it. California (half the shift, 2 to 4 hours), Connecticut (certain industries), DC (4 hours), Massachusetts (3 hours), New Hampshire (2 hours), New Jersey (1 hour), New York (3 to 4 hours depending on industry) and Rhode Island (3 hours' pay) do.

Reporting time pay, also called show-up pay, is a minimum amount an employer must pay when an employee reports for a scheduled shift and is sent home early or given no work. Federal law doesn't require it. California, Connecticut (certain industries), Washington DC, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island do, and Oregon has a similar rule under its scheduling law.

Note: This article is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and cities can add their own rules, so confirm with your state or city labor agency or an employment attorney before relying on it. Last checked October 12, 2026.

Federal Law

The FLSA has no reporting time requirement. Employers must pay for hours actually worked, but if an employee is sent home after 30 minutes, federal law only requires those 30 minutes. If an employer pays show-up pay under a state law or contract, the part paid for time not worked may be excluded from the regular rate for overtime when it's infrequent and sporadic (29 CFR 778.220).

Reporting Time Pay by State

State	Minimum pay	Who is covered / exceptions
California	Half the scheduled shift, minimum 2 and maximum 4 hours, at the regular rate	Employees under IWC wage orders; exceptions for threats, utility failure or causes outside the employer's control. 2 hours' pay if called in a second time and given under 2 hours
Connecticut	Minimum hours under certain industry wage orders (for example, mercantile and restaurants)	Industry-specific; check the CT Department of Labor wage order for your industry
District of Columbia	At least 4 hours' pay (or the scheduled hours if regularly scheduled for fewer than 4)	Regular rate for hours worked plus minimum wage for the rest
Massachusetts	At least 3 hours at minimum wage	Applies when an employee scheduled for 3+ hours reports on time and doesn't get the expected hours; charities exempt
New Hampshire	At least 2 hours' pay	When reporting at the employer's request; not owed if the employer made a good-faith attempt to tell the employee not to come in
New Jersey	At least 1 hour at the applicable wage rate	Not owed if the employer made the agreed minimum hours available
New York	Miscellaneous industries: 4 hours or the regular shift, whichever is less, at minimum wage. Hospitality: 3 hours for one shift, or the regular shift if shorter	Rules vary by wage order and industry
Rhode Island	Not less than 3 times the regular hourly rate (the equivalent of 3 hours' pay) when given under 3 hours of work	When the employer requests or permits reporting; shorter shifts allowed if voluntarily agreed
Oregon	Half pay for scheduled hours cut without required notice	Part of the predictive scheduling law; only large retail, hospitality and food service employers

We didn't find a general reporting time rule in other states. Several cities with fair workweek laws also require pay when shifts are cut on short notice; see whether an employer can change your schedule without notice.

California Reporting Time Pay Example

An employee is scheduled for 8 hours, reports on time and is sent home after 1 hour. Half the scheduled shift is 4 hours, so they must be paid for 4 hours: 1 hour worked plus 3 hours of reporting time pay. If they were scheduled for 3 hours and sent home after 30 minutes, half the shift is 1.5 hours, but the minimum is 2 hours, so they're paid for 2.

How to Avoid Reporting Time Pay

Publish schedules early and confirm the day before when demand is uncertain.
Notify employees before they leave home if a shift is cancelled. In some states, a good-faith attempt to reach them matters.
Use voluntary on-call or early-release sign-ups where your state allows it.
Track actual hours so reporting time pay is calculated correctly, not guessed.

Reporting Time Pay vs. Similar Pay Rules

Term	What it means	Where it comes up
Reporting time pay or show-up pay	Minimum pay when an employee reports for a scheduled shift and gets less work than scheduled	California, DC, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and others
Call-in pay	New York's name for minimum pay when an employee reports at the employer's request	New York wage orders
Predictability pay	Extra pay when a covered employer changes a posted schedule on short notice	Oregon and fair workweek cities
On-call pay	Pay for time spent on call; required when the employee is restricted enough that the time counts as work	Federal law and all states
Split shift premium	An extra hour at minimum wage for a day split by an unpaid gap	California, New York and Washington, DC

Reporting Time Pay Examples by State

Each example assumes an employee scheduled for 8 hours who reports on time and is sent home after 1 hour of work, with no exception that applies.

State	Minimum owed for the day
California	4 hours at the regular rate (half of the 8-hour shift): 1 hour worked plus 3 hours of reporting time pay
District of Columbia	4 hours: the regular rate for the hour worked plus minimum wage for the rest
Massachusetts	At least 3 hours at no less than the basic minimum wage
New Hampshire	At least 2 hours' pay
New Jersey	At least 1 hour at the applicable wage rate, which the hour worked already covers, unless the employer guaranteed more
New York (miscellaneous industries)	4 hours, or the regularly scheduled shift if shorter, at the basic minimum hourly rate
New York (hospitality)	3 hours for one shift, or the regularly scheduled shift if shorter
Rhode Island	Not less than 3 times the regular hourly rate, because the employee got less than 3 hours of work
Texas, Florida and most other states	1 hour, the time actually worked

California Reporting Time Pay in More Detail

The basic rule: If an employee reports for a scheduled workday and is put to work for less than half of it, they're paid for half the usual or scheduled day, never less than 2 hours or more than 4 hours, at the regular rate.
Second reporting: If an employee is required to report a second time in the same workday and gets less than 2 hours of work, they're paid for 2 hours.
Exceptions: No reporting time pay is owed when operations can't start or continue because of threats to employees or property, when civil authorities recommend closing, when utilities such as water, power or sewer fail, or when the cause is outside the employer's control, such as an act of God.
Leaving early by choice: An employee who leaves early for personal reasons isn't owed reporting time pay.
Overtime: Reporting time pay isn't counted as hours worked when figuring overtime.
It's wages: Unpaid reporting time pay is treated as wages, so failing to pay it at separation can lead to waiting-time penalties.

California Second Reporting Example

A restaurant server works a 4-hour lunch shift, goes home, and is called back for a dinner meeting that lasts 45 minutes. Because the server was required to report a second time and worked less than 2 hours, the server is paid for 2 hours for the second reporting, not 45 minutes.

Does Reporting Time Pay Affect Overtime?

Under federal law, show-up pay for hours not worked can be excluded from the regular rate used to figure overtime, as long as it's paid on an infrequent and sporadic basis. In California, reporting time pay isn't counted toward the hours used to determine overtime. If you pay show-up pay often, talk to your payroll provider about how it affects the regular rate.

When Reporting Time Pay Usually Isn't Owed

The employer told the employee not to come in before they reported. In New Hampshire, a good-faith attempt to reach the employee counts.
The employee leaves early for personal reasons.
Operations stop because of an emergency outside the employer's control, under the exceptions in the state's rule.
The employee is a salaried exempt employee, who already receives a full salary for any week in which they work.
The state has no reporting time rule. Pay is still owed for every minute actually worked.

Employer Checklist

Find out whether your state, or any city where you have employees, has a reporting time or predictability pay rule.
Set a cutoff for cancelling shifts, such as no later than 2 hours before the start time.
Use one communication channel for cancellations so you can prove when employees were told.
Train managers to check staffing before sending people home early.
Add a separate pay code for reporting time pay so it shows on pay stubs and payroll reports.
Review reporting time pay monthly. If it's frequent, your schedule is probably too far ahead of real demand.

Reporting Time Pay Exceptions in Real Life

States with reporting time rules usually carve out situations the employer can't control. How they apply depends on the facts:

Situation	Reporting time pay likely?	Notes
Power outage closes the store an hour after opening	Often no in California	Utility failure is a listed exception there
Manager sends people home because it's slow	Yes, where a rule applies	Low sales are within the employer's control
Snowstorm; civil authorities recommend closing	Often no in California	Civil authority recommendations are a listed exception
Employee asks to leave early for an appointment	No in California	Leaving for personal reasons isn't covered
Employer forgot to tell the employee a shift was cancelled	Yes, where a rule applies	The employee reported as scheduled

Exceptions vary by state, so check the rule that applies to you. California's exceptions come from its wage orders; other states have their own.

What Employees Should Do if Sent Home Early

Note the time you arrived and the time you were sent home. A time clock punch is the best record.
Keep any message telling you the shift was cancelled or cut.
Check your pay stub to see whether reporting time pay was included.
Ask payroll or your manager in writing if it's missing.
If it isn't fixed, contact your state labor department.

Sample Shift Cancellation Policy

Shift Cancellations and Early Release

If business needs require cancelling a scheduled shift, managers will notify affected employees through [the scheduling app / text] no later than [2] hours before the shift starts. Employees who report for a scheduled shift and are released early will be paid as required by state and local law. Employees may volunteer for early release by signing the early release list at the start of their shift.

A written cancellation deadline and a single notification channel prevent most disputes, because there's a clear record of when each employee was told.

How Reporting Time Pay Shows Up on a Pay Stub

Best practice is a separate line, such as "Reporting time pay," with the hours and rate, instead of folding it into regular hours. A separate line makes it easy for the employee to see what they were paid for, keeps it out of hours worked when you figure overtime, and gives you a clean record if your state labor department ever asks.

Multi-State Employers

If you have employees in more than one state, the rule that applies is generally the one where the employee works, not where the company is headquartered. A business based in Texas with a store in California follows California's reporting time rule for that store. Set up your scheduling and payroll by location so the right rule applies automatically, and check city rules too, since fair workweek laws in cities like Seattle, Chicago and Philadelphia add predictability pay on top of any state rule.

Cancel Shifts Before People Show Up

Updoot's scheduling software sends schedule changes to employees' phones instantly, and the time clock records exactly when they arrived and left, so you can avoid unnecessary show-up pay and calculate it correctly when it's owed. See also on-call vs on the clock.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

What is reporting time pay? ▶

A minimum amount some states require employers to pay when an employee reports for a scheduled shift and is sent home early or given no work.

Is show-up pay required by federal law? ▶

No. The FLSA only requires pay for hours actually worked. Show-up pay comes from state law, local law or contracts.

Which states require reporting time pay? ▶

California, Connecticut (certain industries), Washington DC, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. Oregon has a similar rule for large employers under its scheduling law.

How is reporting time pay calculated in California? ▶

Half the scheduled shift, with a minimum of 2 hours and a maximum of 4 hours, at the regular rate.

Do you get paid if your shift is cancelled before you arrive? ▶

Usually not under state reporting time laws, which generally apply when you actually report. Some city fair workweek laws do require pay for late cancellations.

Do salaried employees get reporting time pay? ▶

Generally no. Salaried exempt employees must receive their full salary for any week in which they do any work, so show-up pay rules mostly matter for hourly employees.

How can employers avoid paying reporting time pay? ▶

Post schedules early, cancel shifts before employees leave home using one clear channel, and check staffing before sending anyone home early.

Is reporting time pay taxable? ▶

Yes. It's wages, so it's taxed and reported like regular pay.

How is reporting time pay different from on-call pay? ▶

Reporting time pay applies when you show up for a scheduled shift and get less work. On-call time is paid when you're restricted enough while waiting that the time counts as work.