Sending Home Symptomatic Employees: Is Reporting Time Pay Owed?

As vaccinations become more widely available and California counties move in to less restrictive tiers, more businesses are resuming onsite operations. One common scenario for onsite employers is that an employee will report to work and then the employer learns they are symptomatic (i.e., via a temperature check, the employee informs them they are experiencing a cough, difficulty breathing, etc.). If the employer sends the employee home are they owed reporting time pay? The answer is likely yes, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.

In California, “reporting time pay” is owed when an employee shows up for work, but the employer turns them away at the door or dismisses them before the end of their scheduled shift.

Typically, this situation occurs when there is not enough work for the employee that day. If reporting time pay is owed, the employer must pay at least one-half of the employee’s scheduled shift, no more than four hours (or actual hours worked), no fewer than two hours.

Exceptions to the reporting time pay obligation include when:

(1) operations cannot commence or continue due to threats to employees or property; or when recommended by civil authorities; or

(2) public utilities fail to supply electricity, water, or gas, or there is a failure in the public utilities, or sewer system; or

(3) the interruption of work is caused by an Act of God or other cause not within the employer’s control.

So what about if a symptomatic employee shows up to the worksite after you have specifically instructed employees not to report to work if they are experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19? The answer is not entirely clear whether reporting time pay is owed. No agency has addressed this issue and the exceptions above have not been expanded to include COVID-19.

DIR guidance addressing reporting time pay in the context of the pandemic only provides that reporting time pay applies even under a state of emergency, unless the state of emergency includes a recommendation to cease operations. There is no mention of turning away symptomatic employees at the door.

As the saying goes don’t be “penny wise and pound foolish.” Until the courts give us more guidance it’s better to pay reporting time pay when you send home a symptomatic employee rather than risk the cost of litigation and associated penalties.