OCONNOR et al v. OAKHURST DAIRY et al, No. 2:2014cv00192 - Document 123 (D. Me. 2016)

Court Description: ORDER AFFIRMING RECOMMENDED DECISION OF THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE-granting 94 Motion for Partial Summary Judgment; denying 97 Motion for Partial Summary Judgment; adopting Report and Recommended Decision re 112 Report and Recommendations. By JUDGE NANCY TORRESEN. (dfr)

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OCONNOR et al v. OAKHURST DAIRY et al Doc. 123 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MAINE CHRISTOPHER O’CONNOR, et al., Plaintiffs, v. OAKHURST DAIRY and DAIRY FARMERS OF AMERICA, INC., Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) Docket No. 2:14-cv-192-NT ) ) ) ) ) ORDER AFFIRMING RECOMMENDED DECISION OF THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE On January 26, 2016, the United States Magistrate Judge filed with the court, with copies to the parties, his Recommended Decision on the parties’ cross-motions for partial summary judgment. The Plaintiffs filed an objection to the Recommended Decision on February 16, 2015. The Defendants responded on March 4, 2016. I have reviewed and considered the Recommended Decision, together with the entire record; I have heard the parties’ positions through oral argument; I have made a de novo determination of all matters adjudicated by the Recommended Decision and I concur with the recommendations of the United States Magistrate Judge largely1 for the reasons set forth in the Recommended Decision. 1 The Magistrate Judge states that Director of Bureau of Labor Standards v. Cormier, 527 A.2d 1297, 1300 (Me. 1987) “did not speak to interpreting statutory language ‘in favor of employees’ when it determined that considering several entities owned by the same individuals operating at the same location as a single employer ‘effectuates the remedial purposes of that statute.’ ” Recommended Decision on Cross-Mots. for Partial Summ. J. 11 (ECF No. 112). Although the Law Court did not use the language “in favor of employees” in its decision, Cormier advises that the wage and hour laws should be interpreted to further the beneficent purposes for which they are enacted. It is clear to me that the wage and hour laws were enacted primarily to benefit workers. Dockets.Justia.com It is therefore ORDERED that the Recommended Decision of the Magistrate Judge is hereby ADOPTED. It is hereby ORDERED that the Defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment (ECF No. 94) is GRANTED and Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment (ECF No. 97) is DENIED. SO ORDERED. /s/ Nancy Torresen United States Chief District Judge Dated this 25th day of March, 2016. 2

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