Oxford comma has the last word in US pay battle

Never let it be said that grammar doesn’t matter.

In Maine, the much-disputed Oxford comma has helped a group of dairy drivers in a dispute with a company about overtime pay.

The Oxford comma is used before the words “and” or “or” in a list of three or more things.

Also known as the serial comma, its aficionados say it clarifies sentences in which things are listed.

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As Grammarly notes, the sentences "I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty" and "I love my parents, Lady Gaga, and Humpty Dumpty" are a little different.

Without a comma, it looks like the parents in question are, in fact, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty.

In a judgment that will delight grammar nerds and Oxford comma enthusiasts everywhere, a US court of appeals sided with delivery drivers for Oakhurst Dairy because the lack of a serial comma made part of Maine’s overtime laws too ambiguous.

The state’s law says the following activities do not count for overtime pay: “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.”

The drivers argued that, due to a lack of a comma between “packing for shipment” and “or distribution”, the law refers to the single activity of “packing”, not to “packing” and “distribution” as two separate activities.

As the drivers distribute - but do not pack - the goods, this would make them eligible for overtime pay.

Initial ruling

Previously, a district court had ruled in the dairy company’s favour.

The firm had argued that the legislation “unambiguously” identified the two as separate activities exempt from overtime pay.

However, the appeals judge sided with the drivers, saying: “We conclude that the exemption’s scope is actually not so clear in this regard.

“And because, under Maine law, ambiguities in the state’s wage and hour laws must be construed liberally in order to accomplish their remedial purpose, we adopt the drivers’ narrower reading of the exemption.”

The Oxford comma ignites considerable passion among its proponents and opponents.

In 2011, when it was wrongly reported that the Oxford comma was being dropped by the University of Oxford style guide, there was uproar.

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