Your work. Your records.
General Maintenance Worker Workplace Records
A maintenance concern can span a work order, an interrupted repair and a later report that equipment still failed. Record the sequence in plain language before technical details blur together. Describe the building or work area broadly, the equipment category and your assigned responsibility, then connect those facts to your own employment records.
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
Work-order reference
List the date and general repair type, with the instruction or status you dispute; identify restricted records without copying their contents.
Parts and authorization
Note what prevented completion, whom you asked for approval or materials, and when the needed item or instruction became available.
Time and response
Connect your schedule, personal time entries and supervisor response to the same repair event so the chronology can be understood.
Start with the work you actually do
Perform work involving the skills of two or more maintenance or craft occupations to keep machines, mechanical equipment, or the structure of a building in repair. Duties may involve pipe fitting; HVAC maintenance; insulating; welding; machining; carpentry; repairing electrical or mechanical equipment; installing, aligning, and balancing new equipment; and repairing buildings, floors, or stairs.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Maintenance and Repair Workers, General (49-9071.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Perform routine maintenance, such as inspecting drives, motors, or belts, checking fluid levels, replacing filters, or doing other preventive maintenance actions.Source task 20671 · updated 08/2021
- Inspect, operate, or test machinery or equipment to diagnose machine malfunctions.Source task 3024 · updated 08/2021
- Adjust functional parts of devices or control instruments, using hand tools, levels, plumb bobs, or straightedges.Source task 3030 · updated 08/2021
- Repair machines, equipment, or structures, using tools such as hammers, hoists, saws, drills, wrenches, or equipment such as precision measuring instruments or electrical or electronic testing devices.Source task 20672 · updated 08/2021
A reference point for your pay records
May 2025 wage estimates by state
Compare your pay records with published BLS estimates for Maintenance and Repair Workers, General (SOC 49-9071). 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 | $17.36 | $20.97 | $25.76 | $43,630 |
| Alaska | $22.57 | $28.97 | $36.25 | $60,270 |
| Arizona | $19.00 | $22.90 | $29.15 | $47,620 |
| Arkansas | $16.67 | $20.87 | $25.24 | $43,400 |
| Connecticut | $21.89 | $27.70 | $34.21 | $57,620 |
| Delaware | $20.87 | $24.11 | $29.89 | $50,150 |
| Florida | $18.19 | $22.15 | $27.18 | $46,060 |
| Georgia | $18.82 | $22.92 | $28.85 | $47,680 |
| Hawaii | $22.54 | $27.86 | $34.84 | $57,960 |
| Idaho | $19.62 | $23.17 | $29.23 | $48,190 |
| Indiana | $20.02 | $23.99 | $29.80 | $49,890 |
| Iowa | $21.21 | $25.08 | $30.01 | $52,160 |
| Kansas | $18.92 | $22.70 | $27.71 | $47,210 |
| Kentucky | $17.89 | $22.50 | $29.25 | $46,810 |
| Louisiana | $16.99 | $21.13 | $27.69 | $43,960 |
| Maine | $20.90 | $23.76 | $28.98 | $49,430 |
| Michigan | $18.95 | $22.87 | $28.60 | $47,580 |
| Minnesota | $22.81 | $28.46 | $33.54 | $59,200 |
| Mississippi | $16.85 | $21.32 | $26.97 | $44,350 |
| Missouri | $19.19 | $23.26 | $29.54 | $48,370 |
| Montana | $18.50 | $22.54 | $28.02 | $46,870 |
| Nebraska | $21.36 | $24.38 | $29.20 | $50,700 |
| New Hampshire | $21.90 | $25.40 | $30.12 | $52,830 |
| New Mexico | $17.71 | $22.00 | $27.34 | $45,760 |
| New York | $21.92 | $27.79 | $33.48 | $57,790 |
| North Carolina | $18.74 | $23.03 | $28.63 | $47,910 |
| North Dakota | $20.06 | $23.96 | $28.68 | $49,840 |
| Ohio | $21.17 | $25.68 | $30.65 | $53,420 |
| Oklahoma | $16.94 | $20.55 | $26.13 | $42,750 |
| Pennsylvania | $19.99 | $23.70 | $29.70 | $49,290 |
| Rhode Island | $21.68 | $24.47 | $29.82 | $50,900 |
| South Dakota | $20.51 | $23.13 | $27.26 | $48,100 |
| Tennessee | $18.39 | $22.71 | $28.38 | $47,240 |
| Texas | $18.11 | $22.44 | $28.45 | $46,670 |
| Utah | $20.36 | $24.26 | $30.33 | $50,450 |
| Vermont | $23.02 | $26.69 | $30.00 | $55,510 |
| Virginia | $19.01 | $23.79 | $29.80 | $49,470 |
| West Virginia | $15.64 | $18.70 | $24.62 | $38,890 |
| Wisconsin | $21.92 | $26.83 | $30.73 | $55,810 |
| Wyoming | $18.51 | $23.03 | $29.70 | $47,900 |
“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 diagnosis from completed repair
For each relevant job, note the reported malfunction, your inspection and the repair you were instructed to attempt. Identify whether you needed a part, authorization or specialist before finishing. Keep the dates of those requests distinct from the date the equipment returned to service. A closed work order may not explain a deferred repair, so flag that question for review.
Account for dispatch and preparation
Write down when you received the assignment, collected tools or parts, traveled between assigned locations and completed cleanup. Match that sequence to your own time entries rather than assuming every work order records all activity. If a supervisor changed the schedule or time entry, retain the relevant message and your correction request when permitted. Mark approximate durations as estimates.
Keep technical and access information secure
Describe a reported hazard or equipment problem without including door codes, alarm settings, tenant details or restricted diagrams. Do not remove maintenance manuals or system logs from a workplace merely to support an employment concern. Record who received your report, what you observed and what response followed. Avoid treating your recollection as a substitute for a formal inspection record.
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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