The restaurant industry has come under tougher scrutiny from the department of labor in the last decade for non-compliance with federal wage and hour laws. When caught, restaraunt owners face draconian penalties - like forking out civil penalties, unpaid back wages, liquidated damages and attorneys fees for both you and the employee.

Here are the seven most common wage and hourly mistakes for restaurateurs to avoid, as reported and explained by Pizzamarketplace.com:

1. Failure to maintain payroll records
2. Failure to accurately record work hours
3. Failure to inform service staff of tip credit
4. Improper inclusion of non-service personnel in tip pool
5. Failure to properly classify salaried employees
6. Failure to calculate a blended rate for overtime purposes
7. Improper deduction

Here's proof that running a restaurant is a lot more than having good food to eat.