Your work. Your records.
Workplace Records for Administrative Assistants
Administrative work can involve requests from several people and access to information that is not yours to retain. When a workplace concern arises, a clear assignment timeline helps explain competing priorities and the employment decision you want reviewed. Focus on your own communications and records, not the contents of office systems you support.
Call now(800) 800-5555Free initial case evaluation. Representation depends on work state and case eligibility. This guide explains record preparation; it does not determine whether a legal claim exists.
A record map for your role
What to organize first
Assignment and priority timeline
List the relevant requests, who made them and any clarification about priority, keeping private client or calendar details out.
Your supervisor and HR correspondence
Organize your own permitted messages and the responses by date, including any written explanation or correction you submitted.
Personal employment documents
Keep your own schedule, pay statements and performance feedback for the period involved, without collecting other employees' records.
A restricted-record inventory by type
Note what kind of shared-system record may explain the issue without exporting its contents or using access outside your work authorization.
Start with the work you actually do
Perform routine administrative functions such as drafting correspondence, scheduling appointments, organizing and maintaining paper and electronic files, or providing information to callers.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive (43-6014.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.Source task 2790 · updated 08/2019
- Greet visitors or callers and handle their inquiries or direct them to the appropriate persons according to their needs.Source task 2791 · updated 08/2019
- Create, maintain, and enter information into databases.Source task 20281 · updated 08/2019
- Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing.Source task 20280 · updated 08/2019
A reference point for your pay records
May 2025 wage estimates by state
Compare your pay records with published BLS estimates for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive (SOC 43-6014). These describe an occupation across employers. They are not a required pay rate, an overtime calculation, or evidence of discrimination or unpaid wages.
Select your work state to see its published pay range. No personal pay information is requested or sent.
The 25th and 75th percentiles mark the middle half of the estimated wage distribution; the median is its midpoint. Actual pay can differ with experience, employer, location and duties. Hourly and annual figures are shown as published, without converting one into the other.
All published state estimates for this occupation
| State | Hourly 25th | Hourly median | Hourly 75th | Annual median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $17.11 | $20.01 | $23.61 | $41,630 |
| Alaska | $20.08 | $23.33 | $28.32 | $48,530 |
| Arizona | $19.48 | $23.05 | $26.86 | $47,940 |
| Arkansas | $15.25 | $18.09 | $22.22 | $37,630 |
| Connecticut | $22.90 | $27.51 | $31.76 | $57,210 |
| Delaware | $19.34 | $23.06 | $28.17 | $47,970 |
| Florida | $18.19 | $22.07 | $25.65 | $45,900 |
| Georgia | $15.45 | $20.00 | $25.04 | $41,600 |
| Hawaii | $21.12 | $24.44 | $29.04 | $50,830 |
| Idaho | $17.68 | $21.01 | $23.73 | $43,710 |
| Indiana | $17.72 | $21.29 | $24.06 | $44,270 |
| Iowa | $18.29 | $21.71 | $24.56 | $45,150 |
| Kansas | $17.29 | $20.32 | $23.74 | $42,270 |
| Kentucky | $17.78 | $21.25 | $24.70 | $44,200 |
| Louisiana | $15.31 | $18.65 | $22.46 | $38,790 |
| Maine | $21.51 | $23.95 | $27.68 | $49,820 |
| Michigan | $18.44 | $22.12 | $25.52 | $46,020 |
| Minnesota | $21.57 | $24.71 | $29.11 | $51,400 |
| Mississippi | $14.63 | $17.95 | $22.35 | $37,340 |
| Missouri | $17.67 | $20.93 | $24.00 | $43,540 |
| Montana | $17.89 | $21.13 | $23.29 | $43,940 |
| Nebraska | $19.09 | $22.48 | $26.00 | $46,760 |
| New Hampshire | $19.66 | $23.12 | $27.25 | $48,080 |
| New Mexico | $18.36 | $22.33 | $26.79 | $46,450 |
| New York | $21.12 | $23.85 | $28.41 | $49,600 |
| North Carolina | $18.32 | $22.01 | $24.94 | $45,790 |
| North Dakota | $19.36 | $22.83 | $25.91 | $47,480 |
| Ohio | $18.35 | $22.22 | $25.82 | $46,230 |
| Oklahoma | $15.50 | $19.07 | $23.23 | $39,660 |
| Pennsylvania | $18.26 | $22.25 | $25.52 | $46,270 |
| Rhode Island | $21.52 | $25.07 | $29.63 | $52,140 |
| South Dakota | $17.44 | $20.05 | $22.92 | $41,700 |
| Tennessee | $17.81 | $22.03 | $25.96 | $45,810 |
| Texas | $17.32 | $21.70 | $25.74 | $45,140 |
| Utah | $18.24 | $22.62 | $26.57 | $47,050 |
| Vermont | $21.32 | $23.52 | $27.22 | $48,920 |
| Virginia | $18.77 | $22.89 | $27.69 | $47,620 |
| West Virginia | $16.39 | $19.41 | $23.04 | $40,370 |
| Wisconsin | $20.37 | $22.94 | $26.94 | $47,710 |
| Wyoming | $18.64 | $21.85 | $24.19 | $45,450 |
“Not published” preserves unavailable or suppressed source cells. “Above reporting limit” preserves a top-coded source value without inventing a number. A missing state estimate does not establish service eligibility. The data describe wage and salary employment; they do not measure self-employment income.
Source: BLS May 2025 state workbook · OEWS tables · BLS technical notes. Use your own schedule, pay statement and compensation terms to identify the question you want reviewed.
Identify the requests and who set priorities
Note the relevant period, your assigned responsibilities and the roles of people directing the work. If two requests conflicted, record when you received them, how you asked for a priority and the response. Distinguish an ongoing responsibility from a new assignment. A general description of the task is usually enough for the timeline; avoid including private calendar details or client identities.
Connect an employment concern to your response
Record what you raised with a supervisor or HR, when you raised it and what happened next. Keep your own permitted follow-up messages and performance feedback in order. Separate a direct quotation from your recollection of a conversation. If a response came through another person, identify that as secondhand information rather than presenting it as something you personally heard.
Keep access separate from permission to retain
Access to a database, shared mailbox or personnel folder for your job does not mean its contents belong in a personal employment file. Do not export visitor lists, client records, payroll details or another worker's HR information. Identify the type of record relevant to your concern and ask the reviewer how it can be handled. Use your own schedule, pay statements and employment correspondence for the initial preparation.
How the occupation source is used
This guide uses the O*NET 31.0 category for secretaries and administrative assistants other than legal, medical and executive assistants. The selected tasks, dated August 2019, cover telephone inquiries, greeting visitors, maintaining databases and computer applications. They provide occupational context; they do not describe every office role or determine employment status, legal rights or representation eligibility.
Choose your next step
Review the workplace retaliation guide, unpaid wages guide, or discrimination guide if those concerns fit your experience. A job title alone does not establish a claim.
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