my question is.. i know the law in oklahoma says resturants can pay servers 2.13 an hour due to the fact they make tips. however my question is.. if they require you to come in before opening to set up the store when there are no customers in the building to make up the wage difference.. or even after scrubbing floors or doing dishes. are they legally required to pay us 5.15 an hour during those hours?

TY Lissa

It depends. See Dual Jobs here:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs15.htm

You know. That's some real gray area there. The federal DOL says that "general prep" needs to be paid at a dual rate. Here is how bears00 would define general prep:
Washing dishes, folding napkins, laundering tablecloths, scrubbing floors.

Here is also what bears00 would call some duties that could be paid at the lower rate plus tips:
Any activity that is directly tied to serving, that will directly increase the tip-earning potential: showing up early to have an adequate personal till to make change at the table, ensuring that a variety of beverages are chilled to their correct serving temp, balancing personal till, etc.

And bears00's definition and PattyMD's definition may be completely different and neither of them means poo-ey.:p It's the DOL's definition that counts. OP, you can call them and ask if you like. (866)4-USWAGE.