My new employer scheduled me to come in for four hours- one hour to fill out new hire forms and three hours to view specialized training tapes. He indicated there was no pay for these activities. Is this acceptable practice?

If they had given you the employment forms to take home and fill out, they would not have to pay you for that time. But if they are requiring that you come into the office on a certain day, at a certain time, to fill out such paperwork, I am thinking that would be compensable. You can contact your state Dept. of Labor to confirm.

And required training is always compensable time.