Show Up Pay California: Employee Rights for Being Sent Home Early or Given Short Shifts

Show up pay California explains employee rights to reporting time pay when sent home early or given short shifts. Review rules, exceptions, examples, and options for unpaid wages or retaliation claims if your employer ignores California reporting time laws.

By Douglas Wade, Attorney

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Have a quick question? We answered nearly 2000 FAQs.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. If I am sent back early, am I eligible for reporting time pay?

3. What will happen if I am asked to return to work?

4. Does this have an impact on overtime compensation?

5. Can my company send me home without paying for reporting time?

6. Reporting to Work: What does that mean?

7. Are these payments regarded as wages?

8. My meeting ended early: Can I still get paid for reporting time?

9. I left early due to sickness: Can I still get reporting time pay?

10. What happens if my company doesn’t meet the regulations for reporting time pay?

Introduction

You can be eligible for reporting time pay in California if you:

Arrive at work but are dismissed before completing 50% of the shift, or
Perform a subsequent shift that is less than 2 hours.

It’s possible that your company will have to pay you for unworked hours. This “minimum shift regulation” requirement does have some exceptions, though.

If I am sent back early, am I eligible for reporting time pay?

Reporting time pay, commonly referred to as “show-up payment,” may be available to you if:

You work as a non-exempt worker.
You showed up for work.
You are either assigned under 50 percent of your typical or planned day’s work or aren’t asked to work at all, and
The manager asks you to leave.

In the event that this occurs, your employer is obligated by law to compensate you for a minimum of fifty percent of your shift for two hours at the very least and four hours at the most.

1. How You’re Paid

Hours actually worked plus reporting time remuneration might be used to satisfy this responsibility to pay.

Sample: Kevin arrives at his workplace at 8 am. His working shift is eight hours (8 -5). Kevin’s employer orders him to go home at 11 am. Kevin has the right to compensation for the three hours he put in. In addition, he is entitled to 1 hour of time spent reporting compensation, up to a maximum of 4 hours, to make up half the shift.

One more case: Kevin reports for the shift the next day. However, Kevin’s employer orders him to leave before he clocks in since there are too many employees booked for that particular shift. As per the reporting time pay statute, Kevin has the right to four hours of reporting time compensation, which covers 50 percent of his workday.

The employee’s regular rate of pay must be used for the payment. This implies that the rate must be at least the minimum wage.

Be mindful that your base salary and regular rate of pay aren’t the same. The regular rate of pay includes bonuses, commissions, nondiscretionary payments, and more, in contrast to the base salary.

2. Reporting Time Pay Reasons

Show up pay in California aims to:

Punish your employer for pushing you to labor but failing to compensate you.
Shield workers from unpredictable job schedules,
Motivate companies to staff their companies appropriately, and
Require employers to pay for shorter shifts rather than relying on workers’ full pay.

What will happen if I am asked to return to work?

Additionally, you may be eligible for Show up pay in California if your employer:

Requires you to work another shift on one day of work, and
Allows you to work fewer than 2 hours during the following shift.

You are entitled to 2 hours of payment at your regular pay rate in these situations. Even if you didn’t work for the entire 2 hours after the subsequent reporting, this still holds. Your Show up pay in California is the difference between the two hours you truly worked and the total.

For instance, Kevin is asked to return to work at 6 p.m. after being instructed to leave his usual shift due to slow business. The influx of patrons soon fades. He was asked to leave work at 7 pm. Kevin has a right to two hours of salary. This is despite the fact that he worked for only one hour.

Does this have an impact on overtime compensation?

No, overtime payment does not include reporting time. Show-up pay is not payment for work completed; rather, it is a punishment imposed on employers. Overtime rates aren’t calculated using it.

For instance, Kevin’s manager scheduled too many workers, so he was sent back before he clocked in. Kevin was therefore eligible for 4 hours of show-up salary. Later that day, Kevin’s supervisor called him in for work. He put in 9 hours. He is not entitled to 5 hours of overtime compensation, only one.

Can my company send me home without paying for reporting time?

Yes, there are situations in which employers in California are excluded from paying for reporting time. These are the times:

Threats against the company’s assets or workers prevent it from operating; or
A civic authority mandated that the business shut down or refrain from opening, or
A public utility failure impacting the water, gas, or electricity; or
An Act of God that is outside the employer’s control disrupts employment.

For instance, Kevin finds out that a car has gone through the storefront when he arrives at work. He is told to return home by his supervisor. Kevin is not eligible for show-up compensation.

You are only entitled to show-up pay in the event that your boss sends you back. You aren’t eligible for Show up pay in California if you depart work early for personal reasons.

Reporting to Work: What does that mean?

When you come to work to begin a shift, it is considered that you are reporting to work. Your presence at the place of work is not mandatory for this. You’ve reported for duty if you follow your employer’s directions & present yourself properly.

Examples

When an employee is required by their employer to report for work on a specified shift, for instance:

Access a laptop to operate remotely,
Arrive at a client’s construction site,
Plan a map for driving, or
Ensure that they are still required at work by calling the employer two hours before the beginning of the shift.

The reporting requirements of California’s labor regulations are triggered by any of these situations.

Are these payments regarded as wages?

Pursuant to California employment law, Show up pay in California is a salary, even though it has no impact on overtime pay. This means:

The pay stub has to reflect reporting time pay.
Your final check should include every Show up pay in California.
Waiting time penalties can result from reporting time payment that isn’t included in the final paycheck.

My meeting ended early: Can I still get paid for reporting time?

You must also be qualified to receive reporting time credit when your employer requires you to attend a predetermined meeting on a day that you do not normally work and that results in the meeting getting finished early. This is particularly when the time taken to hold the meeting is less than half of the projected time.

I left early due to sickness: Can I still get reporting time pay?

An employee may leave the workplace prematurely on their own due to illness (whether COVID-19 or anything else). They wouldn’t be eligible for reporting time pay. They would be eligible for reporting time pay if their supervisor gave them the order to leave early.

What happens if my company doesn’t meet the regulations for reporting time pay?

A wage claim can be submitted to the California Department of Industrial Relations’ Labor Commissioner (DLSE). You may bring a wage & hour lawsuit if that doesn’t fix the issue.

These lawsuits seek the evaluation of unpaid wages along with interest for the period during which they weren’t paid. Regardless of whether your boss intentionally withheld the money or was just unaware of the law, you are entitled to reclaim outstanding wages.

These claims have to be brought within three years of the last occasion when you weren’t paid for reporting time. Your claim could be dismissed if you don’t follow the statute of limitations.

1. Litigation involving Class Action

Class lawsuits arise from many of these assertions under California wage & hour legislation. It’s likely that other employees aren’t getting paid if your company isn’t providing you the show-up compensation you are entitled to.

2. Retaliation Lawsuits

Keep in mind that we can file a retaliation case with the Labor Commissioner or launch a lawsuit if your employer takes action against you for asking for payment to which you are entitled, such as by terminating or demoting you.

Have a quick question? We answered nearly 2000 FAQs.

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Show Up Pay California: Employee Rights for Being Sent Home Early or Given Short Shifts

Introduction

If I am sent back early, am I eligible for reporting time pay?

What will happen if I am asked to return to work?

Does this have an impact on overtime compensation?

Can my company send me home without paying for reporting time?

Reporting to Work: What does that mean?

Are these payments regarded as wages?

My meeting ended early: Can I still get paid for reporting time?

I left early due to sickness: Can I still get reporting time pay?

What happens if my company doesn’t meet the regulations for reporting time pay?

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