Opinion ID: 2447396
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Construction of the Term Part-time

Text: [¶ 9] The relevant portion of subsection 17751(3) states: The board shall provide in its [relevant] rule ... that any part-time or seasonal state employee who was employed during [the relevant period] is credited with a full year of creditable service for each year in which that employee is employed for 1,000 or more hours. Consistent with the Superior Court's approach, McClintock asserts that part-time... employee is an unambiguous term because it plainly refers to a person who is employed for or working less than the amount of time considered customary or standard. The System counters that the term part-time has no plain meaning and should be interpreted in a manner consistent with the position-based classification system that the System has employed for many years. [¶ 10] McClintock's employment experience with the Attorney General's Office demonstrates that one may be employed to work in a position that is classified as a full-time position, but only work part-time hours. Because the term part-time may refer narrowly to a position's classification by the employer, or more broadly to describe an employee who works fewer than full-time hours regardless of the position's classification, the term is reasonably susceptible to more than one meaning. Thus, part-time is properly considered to be ambiguous for purposes of our analysis, and we must next ask whether the Board's interpretation of section 17751 is reasonable. See Dep't of Corrs., 2009 ME 40, ¶ 8, 968 A.2d at 1050.