Reporting for duty: You must pay minimum 3 hours if scheduled shift is canceled

Q           We have part-time employees who work experiential events in a big city. Sometimes these events are cancelled at the last minute. Is there a mandated law/policy regarding payment if an event is cancelled upon arrival due to unforeseen circumstances?

Some states have laws that require employers to pay employees a certain amount of “show up” or “reporting” pay. For example, in Massachusetts, if an employee who is scheduled to work at least three hours shows up to work at the scheduled time and isn’t provided with the expected hours of work for any reason (e.g., the event they are scheduled to work is canceled), the employer must pay them for at least 3 hours at the state minimum wage rate, which is currently $15 per hour.