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Service Tip
 “This is something that has worked for me when dealing with most filters. After you have cleaned the filter, turn the pump on and fill the tank all the way with water while the backwash valve is still. Then shut off the pump and put the lid in place. The vacuum created by the backwash valve will pull the lid down, securing it tightly without the tech needing to wrestle or force it into place.”
— Kay MacLean, owner, KM Pool Service, Newport Beach, California |
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Business Tip
Watch Out for Employee Compensation Traps
To avoid penalties or claims from disgruntled employees, make sure your business hasn’t fallen into the following common traps. Employers should check with their state’s labor offices to ensure they are compliant with their state’s standards.
1. Allowing hourly employees to waive their right to overtime pay.
An employee may not waive his right to overtime pay. An employer can instruct an employee not to work more than 40 hours per week, and generally may discipline an employee who works unauthorized overtime.
2. Averaging the hours worked over two weeks.
Even though the employer uses a two-week pay period, the FLSA treats each workweek as a single unit. If an employee works 42 hours in one week, the employee must be paid the two hours of overtime, even if the employee only works 20 hours in the subsequent week.
3. Giving time off instead of cash.
The Fair Labor Standards act is very biased in favor of cash compensation rather than “comp time.” Neither the employer nor employee can agree to or insist on comp time in lieu of overtime pay.
4. Treating all salaried employees as exempt from FLSA overtime rules.
Being a salaried employee is not solely sufficient to classify an employee as exempt from FLSA overtime requirements. Additionally, neither job title nor job description is sufficient. Employers must be careful to ensure that employees are properly classified. Exempt employees must meet a certain minimum salary and fall under a certain exemption category specified by the FLSA.
5. Docking the pay of an employee who is exempt from overtime payments.
An exempt employee must be paid on a salary basis. This means that the employee on a weekly or less frequent basis receives a predetermined amount of pay, which is not subject to reduction. If you make improper deductions from an exempt employee’s salary, the salaried basis of payment is destroyed and the exemption is lost. Don’t jeopardize the exemption. Make sure the exempt employee’s pay is the same every week, regardless of hours worked. If an exempt employee shows up for part of a workday, you must pay him for the whole day.
From the National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Legal Center
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MOD Design Tip
 What great design concept are you working on?
We have a lot of multi-level large projects, where one thing flows into the next, and into the next. One of them has a 75-foot slide incorporated into the landscape.
How does it work?
It’s a huge slide – about 75 feet. It has a pool at the top, a pool at the bottom. It goes down through the entire yard. The wife wanted to slide down to the bottom and have a decent climb back to the top so she could get exercise.
It’s a concrete half-tube fit into the grade with rocks all around it, so that it looks like a rock creek. But we were very careful with the boulders we put around the lip. When you’re going down, you can’t have sharp corners where you’re catching.
We finished the inside with a pebble that matches the gray shale that we used on the planters. The surface needed to be smooth, so we didn’t expose the aggregate very much. We thought we might have to polish it, but we didn’t. Instead, we added four coats of a polyurethane product to make the surface slick.
— Lisa North, Co-owner; Da Vida Pools LLC, Austin, Texas
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Trade Show News
Pentair to Exhibit at the 2010 PSP Expo
The 2010 International Pool | Spa | Patio Expo is off and running with the return of Pentair Water Pool and Spa as a key exhibitor.
Pentair will co-sponsor the VGB Pavilion, a dedicated area on the show floor offering attendees an assortment of compliance-related product lines, in addition to a series of 30-minute vendor presentations.
Pentair will also host a cocktail reception for their key customers and industry press, taking place immediately after the show floor closes Nov. 4.
Companies that want to exhibit in the show should sign up now to participate in Space Draw, which begins April 1.
To read the IPSPE blog, visit blog.poolspapatio.com
For more information, click here.
Questions? Contact Exhibit@PoolSpaPatio.com or 972.536.6350.
 2010 International Pool | Spa | Patio Expo
Exhibits: November 3 - 5, 2010
Conference: October 31 - November 5, 2010
Mandalay Bay Convention Center | Bayside Halls
Las Vegas, Nevada USA
972.536.6350
www.PoolSpaPatio.com | info@PoolSpaPatio.com
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