Article 4A5X8 How a Missing Oxford Comma in Maine Employment Law Cost a Portland Dairy Over $5,000,000 in Overtime

How a Missing Oxford Comma in Maine Employment Law Cost a Portland Dairy Over $5,000,000 in Overtime

by
Lori Dorn
from Laughing Squid on (#4A5X8)
Pay-Me-Please-Missing-Oxford-Comma.png

In 2014, Oakhurst Dairy in Portland, Maine was named a defendant in a class-action lawsuit brought by their drivers, who claimed that they were due overtime pay per state law. The dairy defended itself, stating that they followed the letter of the law, which they had always interpreted as saying that drivers were exempt from such overtime. The court agreed at first. Then in 2017, it was reversed on appeals in favor of the plaintiffs for a whopping $5,000,000.

The real issue at hand is that the state had put out a poorly worded rule that lacked a clarifying Oxford comma, which left a great deal of information open to interpretation.

Missing-Comma-Cost-a-Company-5-Million-.

One of the judges was heard to say "For want of a comma, we have this case"". As Half as Interesting explains, the state sort of took notice of their error.

The drivers and company went to trial and the court said no, drivers didn't deserve overtime pay because look at the sentence it very clearly lays out an exemption. The drivers appealed the case went to an appeals court and then the judge dropped this thick 29-page ruling analyzing the single sentence and eloquently saying to the drivers 'fair point you win'. As a result, Oakhurst dairy had to pay about five million dollars in overtime fees. They did win a partial victory though. Soon after Maine dropped a few of these bad boys into their laws; semicolons.

Related Laughing Squid Posts

The Fascinating History of How the Much Maligned Oxford Comma Came Into Use

How the Proficient Use of Proper Commas Can Provide More Clarity to One's Intentions

Heroic Maine State Trooper Helps Save the Life of a Driver He Pulled Over From a Heroin Overdose

Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, Flipboard and Subscribe by Email.

The post How a Missing Oxford Comma in Maine Employment Law Cost a Portland Dairy Over $5,000,000 in Overtime first appeared on Laughing Squid.

External Content
Source RSS or Atom Feed
Feed Location http://laughingsquid.com/feed/
Feed Title Laughing Squid
Feed Link https://laughingsquid.com/
Reply 0 comments