Getting Paid After Being Sent Home From a Scheduled Shift
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Reviewed & verified by A. Jason Velez, Esq.*
Managing Attorney, 1LAW · Last reviewed January 1, 2026
Legal Inquiry
Consumer Legal Issue
Today I was scheduled to work and I have proof of that. I got to work and was there for almost 3 hours before my manager very rudely told me to go home because I wasn’t supposed to be there today. I was scheduled but my manager edited the schedule and nobody notified me.
Attorney Answer
You are owed pay for the three hours you actually worked. You are probably not owed anything for the rest of the shift — West Virginia has no show-up or reporting-time pay law.
The Wage Payment and Collection Act governs how and when you get paid, not what counts as paid time. W. Va. Code § 21-5-3 requires an employer to settle with employees at least twice every month, with no more than nineteen days between settlements, and specifies the permitted methods of payment. It does not define compensable time and it does not create a right to be paid for scheduled hours that were cancelled before you worked them. W. Va. Code § 21-5-4 governs payment when employment ends.
Because no West Virginia statute requires reporting-time pay, the only way you get paid for the cancelled portion of the shift is if something promised it — a handbook provision, a written policy, a union contract, or a specific commitment from the company. Check for one, because employers who use published scheduling policies often have exactly that language.
The hours you did work are a different matter. Nearly three hours on the clock is wages earned, and § 21-5-3 fixes when those wages have to be paid out.
What you can do
1. Screenshot the original schedule showing you were scheduled, and the edited version if it is still visible. Do this today — scheduling apps overwrite history. 2. Write down the exact times you arrived and left, and who sent you home. 3. Search the handbook or employee portal for "reporting time," "show up pay," "minimum shift," or "call-in pay." If a policy promises pay, that promise is the thing you enforce. 4. Email payroll or your general manager in writing asking them to confirm the hours you worked will appear on your next check. Keep the reply. 5. Check that paycheck against your record. 6. If the hours are missing, file a wage claim with the West Virginia Division of Labor, or file in magistrate court for the unpaid wages. 7. If your employment ends over this, W. Va. Code § 21-5-4 governs your final pay.
⏱ Time limits apply. W. Va. Code § 21-5-3 fixes when those wages must be paid — settlements at least twice a month, no more than nineteen days apart — so the clock on a wage claim starts once that payday passes without the money. How long you then have to bring the claim depends on your facts, so do not sit on it.
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Courts & Legal Aid in West Virginia
- File or look up a case through the West Virginia Judiciary.
- Get free civil legal help from Legal Aid of West Virginia.
- Use the LSC — Find Legal Aid to find a local legal-aid office by ZIP code.
- Use the LawHelp.org to browse free legal information and self-help resources.
- Use the ABA Lawyer Referral Directory to get matched with a local attorney through your state bar.
- Visit EEOC — File a Charge to report workplace discrimination or harassment.
- Visit U.S. Department of Labor — Wages to learn about unpaid wages and worker protections.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my manager change the schedule without telling me?
Generally yes. No West Virginia statute requires advance notice of a schedule change or pay for a shift cancelled without notice. If your employer has a published scheduling or call-in pay policy, that policy is what would create the obligation.
I have proof I was scheduled — doesn't that mean they owe me the whole shift?
Proof of the schedule establishes that you reported in good faith, and it matters if you have to prove the hours you actually worked. It does not by itself create a right to the cancelled hours, because West Virginia has no reporting-time pay statute.
What if the three hours never show up on my paycheck?
Then you have a wage claim. W. Va. Code § 21-5-3 requires settlement at least twice a month with no more than nineteen days between settlements, so once that payday passes, put the demand in writing and then file with the Division of Labor or in magistrate court.
