Pepper,
Sorry I offended you and you took my post personally, it wasn't directed at you. There were 6 posts before I posted. At the risk of offending someone else, I saw information referenced that did not jibe with what I posted from the DOL site and that could have been a typo, I don't know. Also the violations listed in the article linked indicate that there are other people who either don't understand the law or don't care about it. Hence my recommendation that they read the laws.
I've never run or even worked at a restaurant. I did own a business so I do know a little about running a business and dealing with employees. From your post it's easy for me to see that an employee who can only work 3 hours and must be out by nine p.m. probably isn't going to work out. Furthermore I agree that relying on a kid to punch out in time when you can be fined is living dangerously.
As far as casting "aspersions", you took my post personally, again I believe you know the laws and have done what you need to do to comply. But if I assume that when you say "we" in your post that you mean all other restaurants (or employers for that matter) know the law, I'm afraid I will have to respectfully disagree.
