If workers show up for work and the business sends them home because of lack of work, do they get paid?
Is a business
required to pay workers who show up for work?
No. If the workers show up for work, but the business has no work for them and sends them home, there is no requirement for "show-up" pay. Workers must be paid for actual hours worked. Businesses are not required to give prior notice of a schedule change.
- Is being required
by the business to wait on the premises considered "hours worked"?
Yes. Generally businesses cannot require workers to wait on the premises without pay. Workers must be paid for all "hours worked," which includes time they are required to be on the premises at the employer's request.
For more detail, see L&I Administrative Policy:
Hours Worked (ES.C.2) (84 KB PDF)
