Your work. Your records.
Fast Food Worker Employment Records
A fast food shift may move between the order counter, payment station and serving area, while the time record shows only a start and finish. If your workplace concern involves a shortage, changed assignment or disputed hours, describe the sequence of duties and who directed each change. Keep the location and employing business clear when several stores share a brand.
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
Drawer handover
Record when responsibility for the drawer changed and who was present, without gathering other employees’ login credentials.
Shift changes
Pair your own schedule notices with the work periods affected and label any reconstructed times as estimates.
Payroll question
Write the specific pay entry or deduction you want explained and attach your own dated request and response.
Start with the work you actually do
Perform duties such as taking orders and serving food and beverages. Serve customers at counter or from a steam table. May take payment. May prepare food and beverages.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Fast Food and Counter Workers (35-3023.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Accept payment from customers, and make change as necessary.Source task 23100 · updated 08/2025
- Serve customers in eating places that specialize in fast service and inexpensive carry-out food.Source task 23110 · updated 08/2025
- Request and record customer orders, and compute bills, using cash registers, multi-counting machines, or pencil and paper.Source task 23104 · updated 08/2025
- Balance receipts and payments in cash registers.Source task 23103 · 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 Fast Food and Counter Workers (SOC 35-3023). 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 | $10.60 | $11.40 | $13.39 | $23,700 |
| Alaska | $13.79 | $16.00 | $18.81 | $33,280 |
| Arizona | $15.08 | $16.46 | $17.23 | $34,230 |
| Arkansas | $11.33 | $12.62 | $13.39 | $26,250 |
| Connecticut | $16.58 | $17.01 | $17.52 | $35,380 |
| Delaware | $15.00 | $15.05 | $17.13 | $31,300 |
| Florida | $13.47 | $13.98 | $15.97 | $29,080 |
| Georgia | $10.81 | $12.94 | $14.25 | $26,920 |
| Hawaii | $14.64 | $16.95 | $18.03 | $35,250 |
| Idaho | $10.94 | $13.91 | $15.96 | $28,940 |
| Indiana | $11.84 | $13.84 | $15.96 | $28,790 |
| Iowa | $12.57 | $13.65 | $16.08 | $28,390 |
| Kansas | $11.05 | $13.26 | $14.07 | $27,580 |
| Kentucky | $10.96 | $13.04 | $14.27 | $27,130 |
| Louisiana | $10.47 | $10.96 | $12.83 | $22,800 |
| Maine | $15.38 | $16.69 | $17.55 | $34,710 |
| Michigan | $13.26 | $13.91 | $15.75 | $28,930 |
| Minnesota | $14.05 | $15.08 | $17.14 | $31,370 |
| Mississippi | $10.26 | $10.87 | $12.83 | $22,610 |
| Missouri | $13.89 | $14.61 | $16.46 | $30,390 |
| Montana | $12.70 | $13.98 | $16.65 | $29,090 |
| Nebraska | $13.56 | $13.94 | $16.54 | $29,000 |
| New Hampshire | $13.93 | $15.19 | $17.37 | $31,590 |
| New Mexico | $13.50 | $13.80 | $14.49 | $28,700 |
| New York | $16.51 | $16.95 | $17.86 | $35,250 |
| North Carolina | $11.24 | $13.74 | $16.52 | $28,570 |
| North Dakota | $13.80 | $14.46 | $16.95 | $30,080 |
| Ohio | $12.89 | $13.67 | $14.39 | $28,430 |
| Oklahoma | $10.54 | $11.27 | $13.23 | $23,430 |
| Pennsylvania | $11.75 | $13.74 | $15.54 | $28,570 |
| Rhode Island | $15.00 | $15.14 | $16.95 | $31,490 |
| South Dakota | $13.78 | $14.18 | $15.13 | $29,490 |
| Tennessee | $11.30 | $13.21 | $14.20 | $27,470 |
| Texas | $11.05 | $13.34 | $14.29 | $27,740 |
| Utah | $12.67 | $13.78 | $16.04 | $28,670 |
| Vermont | $16.51 | $17.32 | $18.58 | $36,030 |
| Virginia | $13.57 | $14.48 | $16.66 | $30,110 |
| West Virginia | $10.66 | $12.54 | $14.23 | $26,070 |
| Wisconsin | $12.36 | $13.75 | $16.05 | $28,600 |
| Wyoming | $10.53 | $13.40 | $14.25 | $27,860 |
“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.
Reconstruct the counter assignment
Identify the station, manager and shift involved. Note whether you had an individual register login or shared a drawer, and when someone else took over. If a till discrepancy led to discipline, write down the explanation you received and whether a reconciliation happened in your presence. Distinguish the amount stated by management from an amount you personally verified.
Compare work time with the schedule
List required setup, service and closing work separately from the scheduled customer-service hours. Match those intervals to your own punches and pay statements, including any correction request. For a changed shift, retain the original notice and replacement if you are permitted to keep them. A busy service period does not by itself explain how payroll recorded your work.
Describe the issue without customer data
Keep your own disciplinary notice, pay record and manager response rather than copies of entire register reports. Do not retain card details, loyalty profiles or customer receipts containing personal information. If the question depends on a transaction audit, identify the date and type of audit for review; do not use another worker’s login to retrieve it.
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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