{"id":14596,"date":"2018-02-08T19:11:35","date_gmt":"2018-02-09T03:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/maine-dairy-drivers-settle-overtime-case-that-hinged-on-an-absent-comma\/"},"modified":"2018-02-08T19:11:35","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T03:11:35","slug":"maine-dairy-drivers-settle-overtime-case-that-hinged-on-an-absent-comma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/maine-dairy-drivers-settle-overtime-case-that-hinged-on-an-absent-comma\/","title":{"rendered":"Maine Dairy Drivers Settle Overtime Case That Hinged On An Absent Comma"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Richard Gonzales<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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Here’s a story that might convince you that paying attention to your grammar lessons might one day put money in your pocket.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the absence of the comma in the wording of a state law laying out what activities qualify a worker for overtime pay, more than 120 drivers for the Oakhurst Dairy in Portland, Maine, are eligible to share a $5 million legal settlement announced<\/a> today.<\/p>\n

The case started in 2014 when several drivers for the milk and cream company filed a lawsuit claiming that they never received overtime pay for which they were eligible.<\/p>\n

A federal court in Maine ruled that the drivers were not entitled to overtime pay because the pertinent state law exempted those who perform these duties:<\/p>\n

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“The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of: (1) Agricultural produce; (2) Meat and fish products; and (3) Perishable foods.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As my colleague Colin Dwyer explained<\/a> last year:<\/p>\n

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“The trouble rests with ‘or.’ The presence of that tiny conjunction without a comma as a companion makes for some muddled meanings: Is ‘packing for shipment or distribution’ exempt from overtime regulations? Or are both ‘packing for shipment’ and ‘distribution’ exempt?<\/p>\n

“These aren’t idle questions for the five delivery drivers who sued Oakhurst, because as Quartz notes<\/a>, “the drivers do distribute, but do not pack, the perishable food.” In other words, one interpretation of the law’s list would make the drivers eligible for overtime pay; the other would mean they won’t get those extra dollars for extra time on the job.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n