minimum wage for tipped employees

Until I got a job as waitress, I, like many people, did not know that the normal minimum wage (currently $5.15/hour) does not apply to people like waitresses. The following is copied from the U.S. department of labor web site (http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/wagestips.htm):

A tipped employee engages in an occupation in which he or she customarily and regularly receives more than $30 per month in tips. An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 per hour in direct wages if that amount combined with the tips received at least equals the federal minimum wage. If the employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct wages of at least $2.13 per hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.