Your work. Your records.
Press and Punch Machine Operator Workplace Records
Cutting, punching and pressing work involves both setup and monitoring finished pieces. A workplace concern may hinge on which setup you inherited or when a defect became visible. Describe the operation and your responsibility before connecting it to a warning, assignment change or pay question.
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
Setup responsibility
Record who established or changed the setting and when you received the instruction.
Defect sequence
Describe what you observed, when you reported it and the response without altering inspection results.
Personal records
Match your schedule and own time correction with the affected production period.
Start with the work you actually do
Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (51-4031.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Measure completed workpieces to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers, gauges, calipers, templates, or rulers.Source task 10110 · updated 08/2025
- Examine completed workpieces for defects, such as chipped edges or marred surfaces and sort defective pieces according to types of flaws.Source task 10111 · updated 08/2025
- Read work orders or production schedules to determine specifications, such as materials to be used, locations of cutting lines, or dimensions and tolerances.Source task 10112 · updated 08/2025
- Start machines, monitor their operations, and record operational data.Source task 10115 · updated 08/2025
A reference point for your pay records
May 2025 wage estimates by state
Compare your pay records with published BLS estimates for Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (SOC 51-4031). 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 | $18.20 | $21.07 | $23.08 | $43,830 |
| Alaska | $21.71 | $23.56 | $28.04 | $49,010 |
| Arizona | $19.13 | $22.41 | $24.64 | $46,610 |
| Arkansas | $17.86 | $21.91 | $24.60 | $45,580 |
| Connecticut | $18.48 | $22.25 | $25.92 | $46,280 |
| Delaware | $19.16 | $20.02 | $23.26 | $41,640 |
| Florida | $17.40 | $18.96 | $22.44 | $39,440 |
| Georgia | $18.60 | $21.67 | $24.39 | $45,080 |
| Idaho | $18.10 | $19.03 | $22.21 | $39,580 |
| Indiana | $19.53 | $22.59 | $27.09 | $46,980 |
| Iowa | $19.29 | $23.19 | $25.35 | $48,240 |
| Kansas | $19.00 | $22.52 | $25.80 | $46,840 |
| Kentucky | $18.89 | $22.00 | $28.96 | $45,760 |
| Louisiana | $18.11 | $19.65 | $23.51 | $40,870 |
| Maine | $22.66 | $24.92 | $29.06 | $51,820 |
| Michigan | $18.55 | $22.17 | $31.79 | $46,120 |
| Minnesota | $20.60 | $23.93 | $28.91 | $49,770 |
| Mississippi | $17.41 | $19.55 | $23.55 | $40,650 |
| Missouri | $18.99 | $23.23 | $28.93 | $48,310 |
| Montana | $21.77 | $23.31 | $24.84 | $48,490 |
| Nebraska | $19.00 | $23.41 | $27.90 | $48,690 |
| New Hampshire | $20.17 | $23.13 | $25.21 | $48,110 |
| New Mexico | $17.50 | $18.96 | $21.91 | $39,430 |
| New York | $19.13 | $22.56 | $27.44 | $46,930 |
| North Carolina | $17.98 | $20.86 | $24.08 | $43,400 |
| North Dakota | $22.71 | $23.27 | $27.24 | $48,400 |
| Ohio | $18.44 | $21.75 | $24.35 | $45,230 |
| Oklahoma | $17.43 | $19.68 | $23.98 | $40,930 |
| Pennsylvania | $19.57 | $23.01 | $28.26 | $47,860 |
| Rhode Island | $20.94 | $23.16 | $28.74 | $48,170 |
| South Dakota | $20.14 | $22.15 | $25.64 | $46,060 |
| Tennessee | $18.07 | $21.53 | $23.23 | $44,780 |
| Texas | $17.76 | $20.54 | $22.82 | $42,720 |
| Utah | $21.17 | $22.44 | $24.50 | $46,670 |
| Vermont | $19.06 | $20.94 | $24.98 | $43,560 |
| Virginia | $19.90 | $22.74 | $25.43 | $47,300 |
| West Virginia | $17.02 | $20.71 | $27.68 | $43,070 |
| Wisconsin | $21.12 | $23.69 | $28.15 | $49,270 |
| Wyoming | $21.88 | $22.54 | $24.94 | $46,890 |
“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.
Trace setup and first inspection
Identify the material category, work-order version and person directing the setup. Note whether you adjusted the machine or began with an existing setting. Separate the first piece you checked from defects discovered later, and record any request for clarification before production continued.
Put output measures in context
Describe inspection, sorting, material changes and stoppages relevant to the measured period. Compare your own time entry with these activities rather than treating machine cycles as your entire workday. Keep permitted supervisor instructions and your explanation of a disputed production target.
Preserve safe record boundaries
Do not operate the press to recreate a disputed event or bypass a guard for photographs. Leave dies, drawings, customer tolerances and operational logs in their approved location. Identify relevant record types and dates, keeping your own training and employment feedback separately.
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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