Your work. Your records.
Meat and Fish Cutter Workplace Records
Cutting and trimming work may move between product types, tools and packing stages during a shift. A workplace concern is easier to explain when your exact station and assigned task are clear. Describe what you observed and reported without using a finished-product count as the full account of your work.
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 sequence
List product and station changes with the supervisor instruction relevant to each.
Observed defect
Describe what you saw before and after handling the product without assigning unsupported blame.
Own work records
Match your personal time entry and correction response to preparation and cleanup duties.
Start with the work you actually do
Use hands or hand tools to perform routine cutting and trimming of meat, poultry, and seafood.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers (51-3022.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Use knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment to perform meat cutting and trimming.Source task 8795 · updated 07/2017
- Weigh meats and tag containers for weight and contents.Source task 8804 · updated 07/2017
- Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat.Source task 8799 · updated 07/2017
- Cut and trim meat to prepare for packing.Source task 8797 · updated 07/2017
A reference point for your pay records
May 2025 wage estimates by state
Compare your pay records with published BLS estimates for Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers (SOC 51-3022). 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 | $13.22 | $14.94 | $17.84 | $31,080 |
| Alaska | $17.58 | $17.88 | $18.05 | $37,180 |
| Arizona | $19.05 | $23.34 | $23.34 | $48,550 |
| Arkansas | $17.74 | $18.26 | $18.76 | $37,980 |
| Connecticut | $16.35 | $16.72 | $17.75 | $34,780 |
| Delaware | $16.50 | $17.07 | $17.30 | $35,500 |
| Florida | $13.31 | $14.98 | $19.11 | $31,160 |
| Georgia | $16.03 | $18.91 | $20.50 | $39,330 |
| Hawaii | $17.57 | $19.36 | $22.11 | $40,260 |
| Idaho | $17.26 | $18.84 | $20.42 | $39,200 |
| Indiana | $18.08 | $20.41 | $21.64 | $42,450 |
| Iowa | $19.83 | $20.76 | $21.02 | $43,190 |
| Kansas | $21.00 | $23.11 | $23.61 | $48,080 |
| Kentucky | $18.75 | $18.82 | $18.95 | $39,150 |
| Louisiana | $11.60 | $13.39 | $16.82 | $27,850 |
| Maine | $16.57 | $18.83 | $23.23 | $39,170 |
| Michigan | $18.24 | $21.36 | $21.36 | $44,430 |
| Minnesota | $17.65 | $20.87 | $22.02 | $43,400 |
| Mississippi | $16.52 | $18.22 | $18.89 | $37,890 |
| Missouri | $18.00 | $20.14 | $22.21 | $41,890 |
| Montana | $16.81 | $18.00 | $19.50 | $37,440 |
| Nebraska | $22.65 | $22.88 | $25.32 | $47,580 |
| New Hampshire | $17.95 | $22.72 | $23.83 | $47,260 |
| New Mexico | $15.02 | $15.02 | $17.50 | $31,240 |
| New York | $16.61 | $17.95 | $21.96 | $37,330 |
| North Carolina | $17.00 | $18.83 | $19.41 | $39,170 |
| North Dakota | $19.47 | $22.71 | $22.71 | $47,250 |
| Ohio | $17.00 | $17.80 | $20.69 | $37,020 |
| Oklahoma | $17.39 | $17.45 | $22.20 | $36,300 |
| Pennsylvania | $17.33 | $17.54 | $18.34 | $36,480 |
| Rhode Island | $16.97 | $18.15 | $21.52 | $37,740 |
| South Dakota | $21.29 | $21.29 | $22.22 | $44,290 |
| Tennessee | $15.06 | $18.07 | $19.44 | $37,590 |
| Texas | $14.00 | $17.25 | $20.80 | $35,890 |
| Utah | $21.17 | $21.23 | $21.52 | $44,150 |
| Vermont | $18.46 | $19.29 | $24.33 | $40,110 |
| Virginia | $14.77 | $17.39 | $17.91 | $36,170 |
| West Virginia | $17.73 | $17.73 | $22.52 | $36,870 |
| Wisconsin | $18.23 | $20.82 | $21.71 | $43,300 |
| Wyoming | $16.52 | $17.81 | $19.37 | $37,040 |
“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.
Identify the cutting assignment
Note the general product type, trimming instruction and tool assigned. Describe any move between stations and who directed it. If feedback concerns waste or defects, distinguish material you received from trimming you performed and defects identified after the product left your station.
Connect preparation with recorded time
List tool preparation, weighing, tagging and cleanup relevant to your personal hours or workload question. Record unavailable tools or interruptions you reported. Keep your own schedule and correction request rather than estimating work time from the total quantity packed on the line.
Preserve safe documentation boundaries
Do not operate a cutter or handle product to recreate an incident. Leave quality logs, customer labels and restricted production information in their systems. Describe the record type that may clarify the event and keep your own report acknowledgment, training notice and employment feedback together.
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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