Your work. Your records.
Restaurant Host Workplace Records
Restaurant hosting involves more than greeting arriving guests. Seating rotation, communication with the kitchen and preparing the dining area can affect how your work is evaluated. For an employment review, identify the shift and instructions behind a disputed event, keeping your account separate from guest identities and private reservation information.
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
Rotation instruction
Keep permitted instructions about seating priority and section closures, identifying the version or change relevant to the disputed decision.
Duties and hours
List preparation, hosting and reassigned work for the affected shift, alongside your own authorized time record.
Feedback sequence
Connect the guest interaction, manager feedback and employment action by date, separating direct observations from secondhand descriptions.
Start with the work you actually do
Welcome patrons, seat them at tables or in lounge, and help ensure quality of facilities and service.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop (35-9031.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Provide guests with menus.Source task 2296 · updated 08/2025
- Greet guests and seat them at tables or in waiting areas.Source task 2297 · updated 08/2025
- Maintain contact with kitchen staff, management, serving staff, and customers to ensure that dining details are handled properly and customers' concerns are addressed.Source task 2302 · updated 08/2025
- Assign patrons to tables suitable for their needs and according to rotation so that servers receive an appropriate number of seatings.Source task 18749 · 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 Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop (SOC 35-9031). 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 | $10.77 | $12.56 | $13.69 | $26,130 |
| Alaska | $13.20 | $14.52 | $18.17 | $30,210 |
| Arizona | $15.00 | $16.70 | $18.36 | $34,740 |
| Arkansas | $11.72 | $12.87 | $13.89 | $26,760 |
| Connecticut | $16.35 | $16.45 | $17.07 | $34,210 |
| Delaware | $15.00 | $15.00 | $16.20 | $31,200 |
| Florida | $13.72 | $14.33 | $17.16 | $29,810 |
| Georgia | $10.54 | $13.39 | $15.28 | $27,850 |
| Hawaii | $14.98 | $22.63 | $27.55 | $47,070 |
| Idaho | $10.39 | $13.12 | $13.80 | $27,280 |
| Indiana | $10.68 | $12.94 | $14.86 | $26,920 |
| Iowa | $11.80 | $13.56 | $15.32 | $28,210 |
| Kansas | $11.02 | $13.51 | $15.38 | $28,110 |
| Kentucky | $10.83 | $13.03 | $14.21 | $27,100 |
| Louisiana | $8.53 | $10.61 | $12.85 | $22,060 |
| Maine | $16.34 | $17.69 | $20.12 | $36,800 |
| Michigan | $12.95 | $13.92 | $16.42 | $28,950 |
| Minnesota | $13.36 | $14.52 | $16.82 | $30,200 |
| Mississippi | $9.85 | $10.57 | $12.90 | $21,990 |
| Missouri | $13.75 | $14.00 | $16.59 | $29,130 |
| Montana | $11.56 | $13.90 | $16.28 | $28,910 |
| Nebraska | $13.50 | $13.68 | $16.81 | $28,450 |
| New Hampshire | $13.82 | $16.31 | $17.24 | $33,920 |
| New Mexico | $13.34 | $13.69 | $14.35 | $28,480 |
| New York | $16.42 | $17.54 | $20.77 | $36,490 |
| North Carolina | $10.83 | $13.62 | $15.67 | $28,320 |
| North Dakota | $13.05 | $13.78 | $16.58 | $28,660 |
| Ohio | $11.68 | $13.25 | $16.01 | $27,550 |
| Oklahoma | $10.49 | $11.89 | $14.91 | $24,740 |
| Pennsylvania | $11.52 | $14.02 | $16.79 | $29,170 |
| Rhode Island | $15.02 | $15.10 | $17.22 | $31,400 |
| South Dakota | $14.00 | $14.57 | $16.46 | $30,310 |
| Tennessee | $10.73 | $13.22 | $14.51 | $27,490 |
| Texas | $10.72 | $13.02 | $14.43 | $27,080 |
| Utah | $13.13 | $14.24 | $16.69 | $29,610 |
| Vermont | $14.45 | $14.94 | $18.39 | $31,080 |
| Virginia | $13.65 | $14.66 | $17.04 | $30,490 |
| West Virginia | $10.59 | $11.74 | $13.20 | $24,420 |
| Wisconsin | $10.60 | $13.49 | $15.82 | $28,060 |
| Wyoming | $10.31 | $10.89 | $14.12 | $22,660 |
“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.
Explain seating decisions in context
Describe the seating rotation or table-assignment instructions you received and any change directed by a manager. Note a large party, closed section or staffing change that affected available tables without including guest names. If discipline concerned a seating decision, record the reason given and your response. Do not assume a final seating chart explains every constraint present when you made the choice.
Include preparation and cross-role assignments
List dining-area checks, menu preparation, cleanup and any work beyond the host station relevant to your concern. Compare those duties with your own schedule and time entry. Note when you were directed to help another area or remain after a shift change. Retain permitted instructions and correction requests rather than copying reservation histories to establish your time at work.
Keep complaint accounts distinct
Record what you directly observed in a guest interaction and what a manager later reported. Identify witnesses by their work roles in an initial summary, without adding private guest information. Keep your own evaluation or warning with the explanation you submitted. Do not obtain surveillance footage or another worker’s disciplinary record just to compare how the restaurant handled a similar event.
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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