Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an employer is required to pay an employee who is called back to work after the employee's normal working hours, otherwise known as callback pay, for the hours actually worked and, perhaps, additional hours, depending on state law. The FLSA guidelines require that the hours worked must be paid for at the employees' base rate or at the applicable overtime rate.

In addition, an employer may or may not be required to pay an employee if the employee reports to work and is then dismissed because no work is available or because there is an unusual condition at the workplace that prevents the employee from being able to work. This is otherwise known as report-in pay.