Rhode Island · reporting time / show-up · R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-3.2
Report for an eight-hour shift, get one hour of work, and Rhode Island still owes three hours at the regular rate.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-3.2 is a reporting-time guarantee, not a lunch premium and not New York spread-of-hours. If you report at the start of the shift (the punches prove it) and the employer does not furnish at least three hours of work, pay is not less than three times the regular hourly rate — a three-hour floor at the rate you typed. A one-hour day at $20 is $60. Three hours furnished at $20 is $60 with no extra. Voluntary sub-3-hour shifts by agreement turn the guarantee off. College/university student employees of the school they attend are a labeled carve-out.
Three times the hourly rate is a floor, not a multiplier on the hour you worked
Load 09:00–10:00, scheduled 8 hours, $20. Hours furnished are 1. Regular wages are $20. The reporting-time line is $40 so the day is not less than 3 × $20. Load 09:00–12:00: three hours furnished, no extra guarantee. The official text is on the Rhode Island General Assembly site: § 28-12-3.2.
Reports, scheduled 8h, furnished 1h @ $20 → max(1h×$20, 3×$20) = $60
Furnished 3h+ @ $20 → $60 wages, $0 reporting-time
Voluntary sub-3 toggle on, furnished 1h @ $20 → $20 (guarantee off)
If the employer offers no work at all, the same floor applies — not less than three times the regular hourly rate, or, for a voluntary sub-3-hour shift, the amount the employee would have earned for that short shift. This page turns the 3-hour guarantee off when the voluntary-sub-3 box is checked; hours actually furnished stay on the regular line.
College-student carve-out
Subsection (b) does not apply the 3-hour rule to full-time students at a Rhode Island college or university who are also employed by that school. If such a student reports and the employer furnishes no work, the school pays the number of hours of the mutually agreed shift (the scheduled-hours field). Check the carve-out box to take the 3-hour floor off.
In scope
- Punch-in/out to prove the employee reported
- Hours actually furnished from the punches
- Scheduled-hours field (agreed shift length)
- 3-hour floor at the regular rate when furnished under 3 hours
- Voluntary sub-3-hour agreement toggle (guarantee off)
- College/university student-employee carve-out (toggle)
- FLSA weekly 40 on hours worked
Out of scope
- New York 12 NYCRR 146-1.6 spread-of-hours
- California Labor Code 226.7 meal premium / lunch premiums
- NJ 1-hour reporting-time and CT mercantile 4-hour (not this page)
FAQ
What is Rhode Island reporting-time pay under § 28-12-3.2?
An employer who requests or permits an employee to report at the beginning of a work shift and does not furnish at least three hours of work on that shift shall pay not less than three times the regular hourly rate — a 3-hour floor at the regular rate, not a 3× multiplier on hours already worked. A 1-hour day at $20 is $60, not $20.
Can Rhode Island schedule a shift shorter than three hours?
Yes. Shifts scheduled for less than three hours are permissible when entered into voluntarily and agreed upon by both the employer and the employee. Check the voluntary sub-3-hour toggle to turn the 3-hour guarantee off.
Does the 3-hour rule apply to college student employees?
Subsection (b) carves out students enrolled full-time at a Rhode Island college or university who are also employed by that school. The 3-hour floor does not apply. If the student reports and the employer furnishes no work, the school pays the number of hours of the mutually agreed shift.
Is this a lunch premium or New York spread-of-hours?
No. This is reporting-time / show-up pay. It is not a meal-period premium and not New York 12 NYCRR 146-1.6 spread-of-hours (first punch to last punch over 10 hours).
