Your work. Your records.
Food Preparation Worker Workplace Records
Food preparation work often happens before service begins and continues after the last order. A workplace concern may involve how those duties were assigned, recorded or evaluated. Start with your station and the particular shift, then explain the preparation, storage and cleanup work that helps a reviewer understand the event in context.
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
Station duties
List prep, supply-moving and cleaning responsibilities for the affected shift, including any reassignment between stations.
Time comparison
Pair your own recorded hours with remembered setup and cleanup work, clearly labeling estimates and unanswered timing questions.
Report and response
Retain permitted messages about the concern and describe the relevant storage or temperature record by type rather than altering or taking it.
Start with the work you actually do
Perform a variety of food preparation duties other than cooking, such as preparing cold foods and shellfish, slicing meat, and brewing coffee or tea.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Food Preparation Workers (35-2021.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware.Source task 18728 · updated 08/2024
- Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items.Source task 2204 · updated 08/2024
- Take and record temperature of food and food storage areas, such as refrigerators and freezers.Source task 18730 · updated 08/2024
- Carry food supplies, equipment, and utensils to and from storage and work areas.Source task 2210 · updated 08/2024
A reference point for your pay records
May 2025 wage estimates by state
Compare your pay records with published BLS estimates for Food Preparation Workers (SOC 35-2021). 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 | $10.58 | $13.43 | $16.58 | $27,930 |
| Alaska | $16.34 | $17.17 | $18.56 | $35,720 |
| Arizona | $16.45 | $17.67 | $18.83 | $36,750 |
| Arkansas | $12.45 | $13.30 | $15.57 | $27,660 |
| Connecticut | $16.99 | $17.62 | $19.33 | $36,650 |
| Delaware | $15.32 | $17.28 | $18.34 | $35,930 |
| Florida | $14.63 | $17.27 | $18.00 | $35,920 |
| Georgia | $14.24 | $16.95 | $18.12 | $35,250 |
| Hawaii | $16.02 | $18.35 | $22.56 | $38,160 |
| Idaho | $13.24 | $15.15 | $17.71 | $31,510 |
| Indiana | $13.25 | $14.28 | $17.28 | $29,700 |
| Iowa | $13.59 | $14.60 | $17.41 | $30,360 |
| Kansas | $13.32 | $14.56 | $16.97 | $30,280 |
| Kentucky | $10.96 | $12.91 | $16.29 | $26,850 |
| Louisiana | $10.33 | $11.36 | $13.79 | $23,620 |
| Maine | $16.23 | $17.32 | $18.78 | $36,030 |
| Michigan | $13.31 | $14.99 | $17.27 | $31,180 |
| Minnesota | $14.69 | $16.76 | $18.39 | $34,850 |
| Mississippi | $10.30 | $12.61 | $14.47 | $26,240 |
| Missouri | $14.05 | $15.15 | $17.81 | $31,510 |
| Montana | $13.80 | $16.28 | $17.84 | $33,860 |
| Nebraska | $14.36 | $16.93 | $18.00 | $35,210 |
| New Hampshire | $14.91 | $17.68 | $18.91 | $36,780 |
| New Mexico | $13.75 | $16.04 | $17.23 | $33,370 |
| New York | $16.50 | $17.12 | $19.35 | $35,610 |
| North Carolina | $12.79 | $14.55 | $17.37 | $30,260 |
| North Dakota | $15.15 | $17.69 | $18.48 | $36,800 |
| Ohio | $13.91 | $16.60 | $18.30 | $34,530 |
| Oklahoma | $11.00 | $13.72 | $16.33 | $28,540 |
| Pennsylvania | $13.38 | $14.83 | $17.35 | $30,840 |
| Rhode Island | $15.48 | $17.06 | $20.21 | $35,470 |
| South Dakota | $13.55 | $14.63 | $16.42 | $30,430 |
| Tennessee | $11.71 | $13.80 | $17.22 | $28,700 |
| Texas | $13.04 | $14.74 | $17.81 | $30,650 |
| Utah | $14.31 | $16.12 | $18.46 | $33,540 |
| Vermont | $16.93 | $17.57 | $20.64 | $36,550 |
| Virginia | $14.88 | $16.78 | $17.94 | $34,900 |
| West Virginia | $11.19 | $13.63 | $15.09 | $28,360 |
| Wisconsin | $13.88 | $16.38 | $18.24 | $34,070 |
| Wyoming | $14.86 | $17.36 | $19.05 | $36,110 |
“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.
Distinguish preparation from service coverage
Describe the items or general food categories you prepared and whether you were also moving supplies, assisting cooks or cleaning a station. Note changes in priorities and who directed them. For a workload dispute, explain the sequence rather than only the amount produced. Identify an unusual delivery, shortage or absence without assuming it explains every difference in output.
Connect sanitation tasks to the shift
Write down when required setup, temperature checks and cleanup occurred relative to your recorded hours. Keep your own schedule, time entry and any correction request when you may retain them. A sanitation sheet may document a check without showing all surrounding work. Do not add information to a past operational log to make it match your personal employment timeline.
Handle food-safety concerns as a separate record
If your concern began with a report about storage or sanitation, note what you observed, whom you informed and the response. Describe the type of operational record that could clarify the event without removing it or copying confidential kitchen materials. Do not take photographs in restricted areas. Keep observations separate from conclusions about what caused a problem or who was responsible.
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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