Your work. Your records.
Nonrestaurant Food Server Workplace Records
Food servers outside restaurants may deliver meals to hospital rooms, residential facilities, hotel rooms or other settings. The workplace record should distinguish meal assembly, distribution and cleanup, along with the instructions governing delivery. Describe your actual setting and employer rather than assuming all nonrestaurant food service has the same responsibilities or employment coverage.
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
Service stages
List preparation, tray checks, distribution and cleanup relevant to the disputed assignment or recorded time.
Changed instruction
Record the delivery or staffing change, who directed it and what work you performed as a result.
Employment response
Keep your own correction request or evaluation response with the original record, leaving recipient details out.
Start with the work you actually do
Serve food to individuals outside of a restaurant environment, such as in hotel rooms, hospital rooms, residential care facilities, or cars.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Food Servers, Nonrestaurant (35-3041.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Place food servings on plates or trays according to orders or instructions.Source task 11152 · updated 08/2020
- Clean or sterilize dishes, kitchen utensils, equipment, or facilities.Source task 11150 · updated 08/2020
- Monitor food distribution, ensuring that meals are delivered to the correct recipients and that guidelines, such as those for special diets, are followed.Source task 11149 · updated 08/2020
- Examine trays to ensure that they contain required items.Source task 11151 · updated 08/2020
- Load trays with accessories, such as eating utensils, napkins, or condiments.Source task 11153 · updated 08/2020
- Take food orders and relay orders to kitchens or serving counters so they can be filled.Source task 11154 · updated 08/2020
A reference point for your pay records
May 2025 wage estimates by state
Compare your pay records with published BLS estimates for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant (SOC 35-3041). 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 | $12.99 | $13.94 | $14.84 | $29,000 |
| Alaska | $15.27 | $18.31 | $22.04 | $38,090 |
| Arizona | $16.28 | $17.01 | $18.35 | $35,390 |
| Arkansas | $12.70 | $13.27 | $14.10 | $27,600 |
| Connecticut | $16.79 | $17.29 | $18.14 | $35,950 |
| Delaware | $15.00 | $15.11 | $16.54 | $31,430 |
| Florida | $14.67 | $16.31 | $17.41 | $33,930 |
| Georgia | $13.90 | $15.16 | $17.81 | $31,530 |
| Hawaii | $16.34 | $18.23 | $27.93 | $37,920 |
| Idaho | $15.00 | $16.45 | $17.26 | $34,220 |
| Indiana | $13.81 | $15.31 | $17.16 | $31,840 |
| Iowa | $13.68 | $14.48 | $16.64 | $30,110 |
| Kansas | $11.75 | $13.96 | $15.14 | $29,040 |
| Kentucky | $13.53 | $15.48 | $17.72 | $32,200 |
| Louisiana | $10.33 | $13.08 | $14.49 | $27,200 |
| Maine | $16.69 | $18.11 | $19.86 | $37,680 |
| Michigan | $14.52 | $16.47 | $17.68 | $34,260 |
| Minnesota | $16.68 | $17.31 | $18.32 | $36,000 |
| Mississippi | $10.97 | $13.10 | $14.36 | $27,250 |
| Missouri | $14.38 | $15.31 | $17.11 | $31,840 |
| Montana | $14.06 | $15.43 | $17.96 | $32,090 |
| Nebraska | $14.16 | $15.17 | $16.92 | $31,540 |
| New Hampshire | $14.99 | $17.65 | $19.04 | $36,710 |
| New Mexico | $15.79 | $17.19 | $18.03 | $35,740 |
| New York | $17.14 | $18.93 | $23.43 | $39,370 |
| North Carolina | $13.41 | $15.13 | $18.05 | $31,460 |
| North Dakota | $16.57 | $17.75 | $18.42 | $36,910 |
| Ohio | $13.62 | $14.63 | $17.36 | $30,440 |
| Oklahoma | $12.96 | $13.70 | $16.73 | $28,490 |
| Pennsylvania | $14.17 | $16.01 | $18.28 | $33,300 |
| Rhode Island | $16.24 | $16.76 | $18.20 | $34,860 |
| South Dakota | $13.89 | $15.38 | $16.23 | $31,980 |
| Tennessee | $13.29 | $14.75 | $17.39 | $30,670 |
| Texas | $12.46 | $14.09 | $16.36 | $29,300 |
| Utah | $13.37 | $14.51 | $17.27 | $30,170 |
| Vermont | $17.36 | $18.05 | $22.31 | $37,540 |
| Virginia | $14.73 | $16.87 | $17.77 | $35,090 |
| West Virginia | $13.30 | $14.51 | $15.81 | $30,170 |
| Wisconsin | $15.00 | $16.67 | $17.97 | $34,670 |
| Wyoming | $11.16 | $15.91 | $18.24 | $33,090 |
“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 the meal-service assignment
Identify the general service area, assigned meal period and duties before trays left the preparation area. Note who checked tray contents, directed delivery changes or resolved a missing item. Describe the sequence without recipient names or room details that reveal private information. Separate what you personally observed from explanations supplied later by other staff.
Record distribution and cleanup changes
If your concern involves workload or time, include tray assembly, waiting for instructions, distribution, collection and sanitation tasks. Note any reassignment and the person who directed it. Compare this account with your own schedule and time entry. Do not assume the published meal period captures all of the work required before and after service.
Keep care and guest records separate
Do not copy special-diet lists, patient charts, resident information, guest accounts or delivery records identifying recipients. Your own employment correspondence, evaluation and pay statements can form a limited personal packet. Identify the institutional record that may clarify an instruction without reproducing it. Seek guidance before sharing anything that could identify a person receiving services.
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.
Call now(800) 800-5555Current service-state coverage
AK, AL, AR, AZ, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, WY. Eligibility is evaluated individually; this list does not promise representation.
Explore state resources