A laborer reports to the jobsite as scheduled but is sent home after only one hour because it started raining. Under California 'reporting-time pay' rules, what is the employer generally required to pay?

Explanation

Reporting-time pay under Wage Order 16 §5(A) is half the usual or scheduled day's work when an employee reports and is given less than that, subject to a floor of two hours and a ceiling of four, at the regular rate. For a scheduled eight-hour day that is four hours. (b) is the intuition that you pay for time worked, which is exactly what the rule displaces. (a) reads the guarantee as the whole shift. (d) is the weather defense, and it is the closest of the three: Wage Order 16 §5(C) does excuse reporting-time pay when work is interrupted by an act of God or by a utility or civil authority - but the exception is narrow, and ordinary rain that merely makes roofing inconvenient does not reach it.