---
title: "6 Common Wage And Hour Violations In The Restaurant Industry And How To Avoid Them"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/b9364591-fbf7-41ae-8837-7b75f3a28396
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/6-common-wage-and-hour-violations-in-the-restaurant-industry-and-how-to-avoid-them-2709388
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Emerging brands"]
published: 2019-03-12T19:14:31.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:32:24.850Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/79254e02ffd5d09c788e9190dbb706716752.jpg
---

# 6 Common Wage And Hour Violations In The Restaurant Industry And How To Avoid Them

**TL;DR:** The restaurant industry is at risk of wage and hour violations, including misclassifying employees and incorrectly tracking meal breaks. Common violations include misclassifying employees as independent contractors, misclassifying non-exempt employees as exempt employees, incorrectly calculating overtime, incorrectly giving or tracking meal or rest periods, not paying minimum wage, and not paying a final pay package correctly.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-03-12. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/6-common-wage-and-hour-violations-in-the-restaurant-industry-and-how-to-avoid-them-2709388).*

## Story

I know that trying to stay in line with all the state and federal HR guidelines can be overwhelming at times, but it’s vitally important to make sure you steer clear of wage and hour violations. If you don’t pay close attention to the relevant rules and laws, you risk heavy fines, penalties and legal fees. The first thing you need to do is make sure you’re well informed of these rules and laws, so that you can work on being 100% compliant.

So, what are 6 of the most common wage and hour violations that I see in the restaurant industry?

1. Misclassifying employees as independent contractors

2. Misclassifying non-exempt employees as exempt employees

3. Incorrectly calculating overtime

4. Incorrectly giving or tracking meal or rest periods

5. Not paying minimum wage

6. Not paying a final pay package correctly

Another thing to be aware of is that the laws can vary depending on which state you’re in, so again, being well informed on your state’s policies is the first step towards avoiding costly mistakes.

If you’re not a member and you’d like to learn more, why not head over to our website today and see what it’s all about?

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- restaurant industry (topic)
- compliance (topic)
- wage and hour violations (topic)
- hr guidelines (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/6-common-wage-and-hour-violations-in-the-restaurant-industry-and-how-to-avoid-them-2709388). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/b9364591-fbf7-41ae-8837-7b75f3a28396).