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Reporting
time pay
To guarantee
at least partial compensation for employees who report to their
job expecting to work a specified number of hours and who are
deprived of that amount of work because of inadequate scheduling
or lack of proper notice by the employer, the Industrial Welfare
Commission Orders require that employers pay nonexempt employees,
in addition to the hours the employee actually works, for certain
unworked but regularly scheduled time. IWC
Orders 1-16, Section 5 Such payments are known as
"reporting time pay." Reporting time pay for hours in excess
of the actual hours worked is not considered wages, and is not
counted as hours worked for purposes of determining overtime.
The specific requirements for reporting time pay are:
Each workday
an employee is required to report to work, but is not
put to work or is furnished with less than half of his
or her usual or scheduled day’s work, the employee must
be paid for half the usual or scheduled day’s work, but
in no event for less than two hours nor more than four
hours, at his or her regular rate of pay.
For example, if an
employee is scheduled to report to work for an eight-hour
shift and only works for one hour, the employer is nonetheless
obligated to pay the employee four hours of pay at his
or her regular rate of pay (one for the hour worked, and
three as reporting time pay). Only the one-hour actually
worked, however, counts as actual hours worked.
If an employee is required to report to work a second
time in any one workday and is furnished less than two
hours of work on the second reporting, he or she must
be paid for two hours at his or her regular rate of pay.
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Exceptions to the requirement
for reporting time pay found in IWC
Orders 1-16, Section 5(C) are as follows:
When operations
cannot begin or continue due to threats to employees or
property, or when civil authorities recommend that work
not begin or continue; or
When public utilities
fail to supply electricity, water, or gas, or there is
a failure in the public utilities, or sewer system; or
When the interruption of work is caused by an Act of God
or other cause not within the employer’s control, for
example, an earthquake. |
Additionally, employers
are not obligated pay reporting time pay under the following
circumstances:
If the employee
is not fit to work.
If the employee has
not reported to work on time and is fired or sent home
as a disciplinary action. |
The reporting time pay
provisions do not apply to employees on paid standby status
or when an employee has a regularly scheduled shift of less
than two hours, such as a relief cashier who works only during
a one–hour period in the middle of the day.
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Q-1.
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What
is "reporting time pay?" |
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Ans.
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"Reporting time pay" is
partial compensation for employees who report to work
expecting to work a specified number of hours and who
are deprived of that amount because of inadequate scheduling
or lack of proper notice by the employer. The provisions
of the law regarding reporting time pay are as follows:
Each workday an employee
is required to report to work, but is not put to work
or is furnished with less than half of his or her usual
or scheduled day’s work, he or she must be paid for
half the usual or scheduled day’s work, but in no event
for less than two hours nor more than four hours, at
his or her regular rate of pay.
If an employee is
required to report to work a second time in any one
workday and is furnished less than two hours of work
on the second reporting, he or she must be paid for
two hours at his or her regular rate of pay.
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Q-2.
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Are
there circumstances where reporting time pay doesn’t apply? |
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Ans.
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Yes, there are a number
of instances whereby an employee reports to work as
scheduled and is sent home immediately, or works less
than half his or her usual or scheduled day’s work and
is not entitled to reporting time pay.
No reporting time pay is due:
When
the employer’s operations cannot begin or continue
due to threats to employees or property, or when
civil authorities recommend that work not begin
or continue.
When public utilities fail to supply electricity,
water, or gas, or there is a failure in the public
utilities, or sewer system.
When the interruption
of work is caused by an Act of God or other cause
not within the employer’s control, for example,
an earthquake.
If the employee
is not fit to work.
If the employee
has not reported to work on time and is fired or
sent home as a disciplinary action.
If an unexpected
or unusual occurrence during off hours makes it
impossible for the employer to open for business
and the employer has made every reasonable effort
to notify employees not to report for work. |
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Q-3.
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Today
I reported to work at my scheduled start time and after
working one hour of my regular eight-hour shift my employer
sent me home because of lack of work. A few hours later
my employer called and said that things had picked up
and told me to report to work again that same day, which
I did. I then worked an 8-hour shift. Am I entitled to
any additional pay? |
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Ans.
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Yes, you are entitled
to three hours of reporting time pay. Under the law,
an employee who reports to work on time and is later
sent home because of lack of work, having worked less
than half of his or her regularly scheduled shift, is
entitled to be paid for half the usual or scheduled
day’s work, but in no event for less than two hours
nor more than four hours at his or her regular rate
of pay. This provision of the law applies even though
you were called back to work later that same day and
worked a full shift. For this workday, your total compensation
is 11 hours of compensation at your regular rate of
pay, and one hour of overtime pay, calculated as follows:
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8 hours regular
rate. One hour worked the first time you reported
to work plus the first seven hours worked the
second time you reported to work later in the
same workday.
3 hours regular rate. This pay represents the
reporting time penalty for the first time you
reported to work but were provided with less than
half your regularly scheduled shift. No reporting
time pay is due for the second time you reported
to work because you were furnished with more than
two hours of work.
1 hour of overtime for the ninth hour actually
worked in the workday.
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Q-4.
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Yesterday
after reporting to work on time and working three hours
of my usual eight-hour shift, my employer sent me home
claiming that my performance was unsatisfactory as I was
not doing my job correctly. Am I entitled to reporting
time pay? |
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Ans.
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Yes,
you are entitled to one hour of reporting time pay in
addition to the three hours of wages you earned for the
work you performed before being sent home. Performing
at a level that the employer feels is unacceptable does
not fall within any of the exceptions to the employer’s
obligation to pay reporting time pay. |
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Q-5.
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Today
I reported to work as scheduled and was sent home after
one hour because of a bomb threat in the building. The
building was closed for the entire day and I was unable
to work my regular eight-hour shift. Am I entitled to
any reporting time pay? |
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Ans.
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No,
one of the exceptions to the reporting time pay requirement
is if the workday is interrupted due to a threat to employees
or property. |
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Q-6.
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Yesterday
I reported to work at my regular time and there was no
work available. I was sent home and told to report for
the second shift, which I did. I worked 8 hours on the
second shift. For the day, my employer paid me for 12
hours at my regular rate of pay. Since I was paid for
12 hours, shouldn’t four of those hours be at the overtime
rate instead of my regular rate of pay? |
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Ans.
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No, you were paid correctly.
Reporting time pay is in the nature of a penalty against
the employer for having you report to work expecting
to work a certain number of hours, and depriving you
of fulfilling that expectation because of inadequate
scheduling or lack of proper notice. Reporting time
pay is not wages; that is, compensation for services
rendered or labor performed and thus, is not used in
determining if overtime is due. Since you did not work
more than eight hours in the workday, no overtime is
due.
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Q-7.
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Yesterday
I reported to work on time and was sent home after only
one hour because there was not sufficient work for the
entire day. Consequently, I did not work my full 6-hour
shift. How much reporting time pay am I entitled to? |
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Ans.
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Your employer is required
to pay you two hours of reporting time pay. Since you
worked only one hour, which is less than half your scheduled
day’s work, your employer is required to pay you for
half the usual or scheduled day’s work, but in no event
for less than two hours nor more than four hours. Since
you worked for one hour, you must be paid for that hour’s
work, and for two hours of reporting time penalty pay,
for a total of 3 hours of pay.
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Q-8.
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Two
days ago I reported to work on time for my regular eight-hour
shift. I worked for three hours and then went home to
take care of my sick child. Am I entitled to any reporting
time pay because I didn’t work half my usual day’s work? |
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Ans.
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No.
Because you left work on your own volition to attend to
a personal matter, you are not entitled to any reporting
time pay. In this situation your employer did not deprive
you of the opportunity to work your full schedule, it
was your choice not to so and thus, no reporting time
penalty is due. |
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Q-9.
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Yesterday
my regular eight-hour work shift ended at 3:30 p.m. and
I was required to report back to work at 5:30 p.m. on
the same workday to attend a one hour training meeting.
I am paid $10.00 per hour. Am I entitled to any reporting
time pay? |
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Ans.
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Yes,
you are entitled to one hour of reporting time pay. Under
the law, if an employee is required to report to work
a second time in any one workday and is furnished less
than two hours of work on the second reporting, he or
she must be paid for two hours at his or her regular rate
of pay. In the situation described, since less than two
hours of work was provided on the second reporting (i.e.,
the one hour training session) one hours’ pay is due as
the reporting time pay penalty. Attending a required meeting
is counted as hours
worked because during that time you are subject to
the control of the employer.
In addition to the one-hour of reporting time pay, you
are also entitled to one hour of overtime pay. The time
spent at the required training is compensable as hours
worked as you were subject to the control of your employer.
Since you had already worked eight hours in the workday
prior to attending the training, the one-hour spent at
the training is the ninth hour worked in the workday and
subject to the overtime premium. The following summarizes
your total pay due for the day:
| 8 hours
worked at $10.00/hour = |
$
80.00 |
| 1 hour
of reporting time pay (regular rate)* = |
10.00 |
| 1 hour
of overtime at time and one-half = |
15.00 |
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$105.00 |
*Because your employer required
you to return to work a second time in the workday and
furnished you with less than two hours of work you are
entitled to one hour of reporting time pay. |
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Q-10.
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What
can I do if my employer doesn’t pay me my reporting time
pay? |
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Ans.
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You
can either file
a wage claim with the Division of Labor Standards
Enforcement (the Labor Commissioner's Office), or you
can file a lawsuit in court against your employer to recover
the reporting time pay. |
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Q-11.
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What
is the procedure that is followed after I file a wage
claim? |
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Ans.
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After your claim is completed
and filed with a local office of the Division of Labor
Standards Enforcement (DLSE), it will be assigned to
a Deputy Labor Commissioner who will determine, based
upon the circumstances of the claim and information
presented, how best to proceed. Initial action taken
regarding the claim can be referral to a conference
or hearing, or dismissal of the claim.
If the decision is to
hold a conference, the parties will be notified by mail
of the date, time and place of the conference. The purpose
of the conference is to determine the validity of the
claim, and to see if the claim can be resolved without
a hearing. If the claim is not resolved at the conference,
the next step usually is to refer the matter to a hearing
or dismiss it for lack of evidence.
At the hearing the parties
and witnesses testify under oath, and the proceeding
is recorded. After the hearing, an Order, Decision,
or Award (ODA) of the Labor Commissioner will be served
on the parties.
Either party may appeal
the ODA to a civil court of competent jurisdiction.
The court will set the matter for trial, with each party
having the opportunity to present evidence and witnesses.
The evidence and testimony presented at the Labor Commissioner’s
hearing will not be the basis for the court’s decision.
In the case of an appeal by the employer, DLSE may represent
an employee who is financially unable to afford counsel
in the court proceeding.
See the Policies
and Procedures of Wage Claim Processing pamphlet for
more detail on the wage claim procedure. |
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Q-12.
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What
can I do if I prevail at the hearing and the employer
doesn’t pay or appeal the Order, Decision, or Award? |
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Ans.
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When
the Order, Decision, or Award (ODA) is in the employee's
favor and there is no appeal, and the employer does not
pay the ODA, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement
(DLSE) will have the court enter the ODA as a judgment
against the employer. This judgment has the same force
and effect as any other money judgment entered by the
court. Consequently, you may either try to collect the
judgment yourself or you can assign it to DLSE. |
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Q-13.
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What
can I do if my employer retaliates against me because
I told him he owed me reporting time pay? |
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Ans.
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If
your employer discriminates or retaliates against you
in any manner whatsoever, for example, he discharges you
because you told him he owed you reporting time pay, or
because you file a claim or threaten to file a claim with
the Labor Commissioner, you can file
a discrimination/retaliation complaint with the Labor
Commissioner’s Office. In the alternative, you can file
a lawsuit in court against your employer. |
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