A paid hour is a reasonable amount of homework if someone is actively looking for a job. You can't pull someone from a firm that isn't looking, but for contract work, it's reasonable. If I'm actively applying for a job that I am very interested in, I want them to do a lot of things that scare away other candidates and will allow me to shine. I've happily done 4 hours of unpaid homework. An hour is perfectly normal.
Exactly. Getting hired for a normal salaried job can easily involve an hour or two in phone screens, and then basically a whole workday in on-site interviews. An hour for a contract position seems completely reasonable.
