Reporting Time Pay (Show-Up Pay) for Restaurants: QuickSpice

The guarantee, state by state

State	Guarantee	Rate
California	Half the scheduled shift, at least 2 hours, at most 4 hours	Regular rate
Connecticut	2 hours for restaurant and hotel employees (4 hours in other industries)	Regular rate
D.C.	Up to 4 hours, or the full scheduled shift if it was shorter	Regular rate
Massachusetts	3 hours, if the shift was scheduled for 3 hours or more	Minimum wage
New Hampshire	Flat 2 hours	Regular rate
New Jersey	Flat 1 hour	Regular rate
Rhode Island	3 hours	Regular rate

Most other states have no reporting time pay requirement at all.

It’s a guarantee for the day, not a bonus on top

This is the part that trips owners up most: the guarantee is the minimum total pay for that reporting event, not an extra chunk stacked on top of hours already worked.

Example: A California server is scheduled for a 6-hour shift. It’s dead, so the manager sends them home after 45 minutes.

The guarantee is half the scheduled shift: 3 hours (half of 6, which falls between the 2-hour floor and 4-hour cap).
They already earned 45 minutes of actual pay.
You owe additional pay to bring their total for that reporting event up to 3 hours, not a flat 2 or 3 hours stacked on top of what they already earned.

It’s judged per scheduled shift, not per day

If someone has two separate published shifts on the same day (say, a short brunch shift and a longer dinner shift), each shift is checked against the guarantee on its own. A rough brunch shift can owe reporting time pay even though the dinner shift later that day goes fine.

When it doesn’t apply

Outside anyone's control

A natural disaster, an act of civil authority, or a utility failure like a power outage that makes work impossible generally excuses the guarantee.

A real safety threat

If continuing to operate would threaten employees or property, sending people home doesn’t trigger the pay.

The employee's own choice

If an employee asks to leave early on their own, that’s different from being sent home, and generally doesn’t create a reporting time obligation.

Never actually reported

An employee who was on call, was told not to come in, and never physically reported generally hasn’t triggered the guarantee in most of these states.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and every business is different, so talk with an employment attorney about your situation.

Reporting Time Pay (Show-Up Pay) for Restaurants