Your work. Your records.
Sheet Metal Worker Workplace Records
Sheet metal workers may fabricate components in a shop and later assemble them at a site. A workplace concern about dimensions, delays or hours can span those stages. Identify the work assigned to you and when responsibility passed between fabrication, transport and installation rather than treating the finished assembly as a complete account.
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
Stage responsibility
List fabrication, transport and installation duties you personally handled and the handoff between them.
Revision history
Record the changed specification, approval role and date without reproducing proprietary dimensions or drawings.
Work-time question
Compare your own recorded hours with setup and site-assignment notes, marking estimated periods clearly.
Start with the work you actually do
Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Sheet Metal Workers (47-2211.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.Source task 5177 · updated 08/2023
- Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.Source task 19858 · updated 08/2023
- Fasten seams or joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, or bonds to assemble components into products or to repair sheet metal items.Source task 5173 · updated 08/2023
- Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation.Source task 5179 · updated 08/2023
A reference point for your pay records
May 2025 wage estimates by state
Compare your pay records with published BLS estimates for Sheet Metal Workers (SOC 47-2211). 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 | $20.33 | $22.85 | $28.21 | $47,530 |
| Alaska | $27.74 | $45.48 | $49.77 | $94,600 |
| Arizona | $18.19 | $24.16 | $33.14 | $50,260 |
| Arkansas | $18.48 | $22.03 | $23.20 | $45,820 |
| Connecticut | $27.82 | $37.86 | $44.53 | $78,750 |
| Delaware | $20.80 | $29.55 | $38.65 | $61,460 |
| Florida | $19.61 | $23.87 | $28.87 | $49,640 |
| Georgia | $22.23 | $27.31 | $33.96 | $56,800 |
| Hawaii | $37.40 | $46.32 | $50.70 | $96,350 |
| Idaho | $18.09 | $22.29 | $36.24 | $46,350 |
| Indiana | $23.47 | $30.79 | $43.81 | $64,040 |
| Iowa | $23.78 | $31.95 | $36.58 | $66,460 |
| Kansas | $20.85 | $30.13 | $41.67 | $62,670 |
| Kentucky | $23.25 | $29.17 | $39.69 | $60,680 |
| Louisiana | $17.86 | $24.19 | $29.45 | $50,320 |
| Maine | $26.05 | $29.87 | $31.77 | $62,120 |
| Michigan | $23.40 | $31.01 | $41.68 | $64,490 |
| Minnesota | $24.79 | $35.08 | $51.38 | $72,970 |
| Mississippi | $18.78 | $23.80 | $30.12 | $49,500 |
| Missouri | $22.84 | $30.56 | $47.16 | $63,560 |
| Montana | $24.78 | $29.53 | $37.96 | $61,420 |
| Nebraska | $22.13 | $30.98 | $42.46 | $64,440 |
| New Hampshire | $22.26 | $28.75 | $34.06 | $59,800 |
| New Mexico | $20.00 | $27.27 | $38.05 | $56,720 |
| New York | $24.00 | $35.46 | $46.21 | $73,760 |
| North Carolina | $21.87 | $24.39 | $29.56 | $50,730 |
| North Dakota | $23.51 | $31.34 | $38.91 | $65,180 |
| Ohio | $23.89 | $35.96 | $39.79 | $74,790 |
| Oklahoma | $26.44 | $31.56 | $33.96 | $65,640 |
| Pennsylvania | $24.35 | $29.52 | $42.12 | $61,400 |
| Rhode Island | $25.04 | $31.30 | $39.42 | $65,100 |
| South Dakota | $20.47 | $22.98 | $29.01 | $47,800 |
| Tennessee | $21.74 | $28.45 | $35.40 | $59,170 |
| Texas | $21.61 | $26.08 | $30.51 | $54,240 |
| Utah | $23.80 | $30.36 | $36.69 | $63,140 |
| Vermont | $23.38 | $28.00 | $32.03 | $58,250 |
| Virginia | $21.45 | $25.10 | $30.48 | $52,220 |
| West Virginia | $22.55 | $34.81 | $35.78 | $72,390 |
| Wisconsin | $24.21 | $37.38 | $46.79 | $77,760 |
| Wyoming | $25.31 | $28.24 | $34.50 | $58,740 |
“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.
Track the component and revision
Describe the general component, instruction version and joining or installation task. Note who approved a change and when it reached you. Distinguish rework caused by revised specifications from correction of an error, leaving the cause open where it has not been verified.
Explain movement and setup
Record preparation, movement of prefabricated parts and site-access conditions relevant to your own time entry. Identify unavailable equipment or material and the alternative assignment you received. A shop completion date may not explain waiting at the installation site or instructions received after delivery.
Keep technical records controlled
Use your own permitted employment messages, training and pay documents. Do not remove fabrication drawings, customer plans, restricted site photographs or equipment settings. Identify relevant work orders for review without altering them or entering a location after your authorization ends.
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