oxford comma lawsuit

. The Oxford comma makes it read as though the mother IS Ayn Rand. Drivers with Oakhurst … While the Oxford comma is grammatically correct, it's often unnecessary. In 2014, a multimillion-dollar case was instituted for lack of a comma. Regarding the case above, Maine’s overtime lawstates: [textblock style=”3″] The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of: (1) Agricultural produce; (2) Meat and fish products; an… One of these exemptions in state law reads as follows: 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 lack of an Oxford comma in a list of activities deemed exempt from overtime pay. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. Today is National Voter Registration Day! PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine dairy company has settled a lawsuit over an overtime dispute that was the subject of a ruling hinging on the use of the Oxford comma. But like certain fashions, the serial comma is adored by some and hated by others.In short, the Oxford comma is The Oxford Comma Lawsuit If you think this is all rather esoteric, you may not have heard that the Oxford comma recently cost a dairy company $5 million. The comma in question (or rather, the missing comma in question) gained notoriety due to its absence from a state law. @ HeyNowJO: The most famous illustration of why the Oxford comma is critical: pic.twitter.com/yG5j4AAaGX, Even so, there are some powerful anti-Oxford comma forces out there — notably, the AP Style Guide, which The Huffington Post follows. (Though AP does specify that writers should insert the the comma when leaving it out would cause misreading.). O’Connor, along with about 75 other drivers, filed a class-action lawsuit to sue Oakhurst Dairy for $10 million in unpaid overtime. Thus, writers should eliminate it unless absolutely essential for comprehension. See details. In this class action lawsuit, drivers for Oakhurst Dairy sued the company over its failure to grant them overtime pay. The judge’s reasoning that the drivers were in the right? Plus, there were other grammatical clues that “distribution” was not meant to be read as a separate activity, the drivers noted. Specifically, companies don’t need to pay overtime for the following activities: The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of: 1. ©2021 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. So how does all of this play into the truck driver lawsuit? Take it case by case and use the grammar that makes your writing the most readable. An absent "Oxford comma" will cost a Maine dairy company $5 million. “The drivers read ‘shipment’ and ‘distribution’ each to be objects of the preposition ‘for’ that describes the exempt activity of ‘packing,’” he wrote. The case went all the way to an appeals court, which kicked the case back to the lower court due to the ambiguity introduced by the lack of a serial, or Oxford, comma. Recently, the Oxford comma shot into stardom after becoming the crux of a $10 million class-action lawsuit against a Maine dairy company. The Oakhurst Dairy lawsuit makes a strong case for clarity in punctuation. “For want of a comma, we have this case,” Judge David Barron wrote in the opening line of his decision. Oakhurst claimed that the phrase “packing for shipment or distribution” covered workers who were packing goods for shipment, as well as workers involved in “distribution” — like the truck drivers. Last week, Judge David J Barron upheld an appeal in a class-action lawsuit, opening his opinion with: "For want of a comma, … 16-1901 (March 13, 2017), Judge Barron: But according to the Bangor Daily News, there will likely be more punctuation-heavy court proceedings before the case is settled for good. A group of dairy drivers … PORTLAND, Maine — A Maine dairy company has settled a lawsuit over an overtime dispute that was the subject of a ruling hinging on the use of the Oxford comma. If there had been a comma after “shipment,” the distinction would have been more clear, and “distribution” would have been a more obviously distinct activity. An Oxford comma is the comma used after the second-to-last item in a list of three or more things, "item A, item B, and item C." It's not often used in journalism. “And the drivers read the gerunds each to be referring to stand-alone, exempt activities.”. However, there are exemptions to this rule. Some people put a comma there, others leave it out, and many people, including judges, have strong opinions regarding its use. And Barron agreed. On Monday, U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a group of dairy truck drivers who were suing Oakhurst Dairy for unpaid overtime wages, the Bangor Daily News reports. Simple commas or semicolons can cost millions of dollars for a company depending on clauses in a contract or state law. Watch the video to find out the judge’s ruling and see if that Oxford comma came in to save the day for O’Connor and his fellow drivers. Oxford shirt, Oxford shoes … Oxford comma. But the truck drivers argued that the phrase essentially meant “packing for shipment or packing for distribution.” In other words, the distribution itself was a separate activity not covered by the exemption. Other people say it's necessary. The Maine overtime law in question states that workers must get overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours a week, unless their work falls under an exemption. Nope, the comma’s not related. We made it easy for you to exercise your right to vote! The 2017 Oxford Comma Lawsuit. If you have ever doubted the importance of the humble Oxford comma, let this supremely persnickety Maine labor dispute set you straight. Oxford comma fans like to point to hilarious examples of how the lack of the comma can cause confusion. Drivers with Oakhurst Dairy filed the lawsuit in 2014 seeking more than $10 million. The lack of an Oxford comma in a list of activities deemed exempt from overtime pay. Nothing, but nothing—profanity, transgender pronouns, apostrophe abuse—excites the passion of grammar geeks more than the serial, or Oxford, comma. A Missing Oxford Comma Decided This Ruling On Overtime Pay, "For want of a comma, we have this case. In Maine, the much-disputed Oxford comma has helped a group of dairy drivers in a dispute with a company about overtime pay. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine dairy company has settled a lawsuit over an overtime dispute that was the subject of a ruling hinging on the use … A Bill, a Lawsuit and One Very Important (Missing) Comma 9/1/2017 STATE LEGISLATURES MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2017 A lawsuit about overtime pay for truck drivers hinged on a debate over the Oxford comma – perhaps the most polarizing of punctuation marks. Tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you. Not to make anyone feel old, but if you remember the sound of a dial-up modem, you’ve witnessed the arc of these terms trending from exotic to mundane. United States Court of AppealsFor the First Circuit, No. United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit, No. There’s not much that makes grammar and punctuation enthusiasts more hot and bothered than debates about Oxford commas. Over time, and with practice, we can build a working relationship with punctuation marks and learn to use them properly to avoid such entanglements. It turns out the Oxford comma is a very expensive punctuation mark. The English language is fluid, evolving and highly subjective. Judge David Barron wrote in the opening line of his decision. 16-1901 (March 13, 2017), Judge Barron:The Oxford Comma is important. … However, there are exemptions to this rule. “For want of a comma, we have this case,” Judge David Barron wrote in the opening line of his decision. If the Oxford comma was added, right after the word shipment, this law would have made complete sense to everybody.” Believing that they performed certain items on this overtime law, Oakhurst’s milk truck drivers filed a lawsuit against the company about being eligible for overtime pay, and the U.S. Appeals Court sided with them. The Oxford comma got its name because Horace Hart, controller of the University Press at Oxford in 1893, compiled a set of rules for use by press employees. At … Noel King from our PLANET MONEY podcast has the story of a $10 million lawsuit that hinges on an Oxford comma. This information is shared with social media, sponsorship, analytics, and other vendors or service providers. Court documents filed Thursday show that they settled for $5 million. According to Maine law, workers should receive 1.5 times their normal pay for any hours worked over 40 per week. Barron’s ruling reverses an earlier ruling by a U.S. District Court, which sided with Oakhurst in saying that “distribution” was intended to be read as a separate job responsibility. As the New York Timesreports, Oakhurst Dairy settled an overtime dispute with its drivers that hinged entirely on the lack of an Oxford comma in state law. Language evolves. Also known as a serial comma, an Oxford comma is placed before the word “and” and another conjunction in a series of three or more terms. ", Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter. Kevin O’Connor, along with about 75 other drivers filed a class-action lawsuit against Oakhurst Dairy for … pic.twitter.com/jhdqfbdfvN, In case you need a refresher on what an Oxford comma is, it’s also known as a “serial comma.” It’s the comma right after the next-to-last item in a list of three or more things, before the words “and” or “or.”. Without it, this sentence would be much clearer. A federal appeals court decided to keep the drivers' lawsuit alive last year. Portland-based company Oakhurst Dairy will potentially owe $US10 million ($13 million) to 75 milk-truck drivers in the US state of Maine because of a missing comma in a legal clause. "I'm Silently Correcting Your Grammar" mug, $18, Etsy. Comma; image courtesy of iStockphoto A class-action lawsuit about overtime pay for truck drivers has been reduced to a debate about proper grammar. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic. Let’s not hold onto the Oxford comma just because we learned about it in grade school. Some people think the Oxford comma is redundant. Meat and fish prod… “For want of a comma, we have this case.” That was the first line of Circuit Judge David J. Barron’s opinion on a case hinging upon the use – or lack thereof – of a comma.. That’s right: The Oxford comma is at the center of a $10 million overtime lawsuit in Maine. Back in 2017 in Maine, a class action lawsuit took place as drivers for Oakhurst Dairy sued the company for failing to grant them overtime pay. Agricultural produce; 2. The Oxford comma is used before the words “and” or … According to Maine law, workers are entitled to 1.5 times their normal pay for any hours worked over 40 per week. Associated Press editors made this move last year, and the Chicago Manual has now followed suit. And a court ruling out of Maine is adding fuel to the nerdy fire. O’Connor, along with about 75 other drivers, filed a class-action lawsuit to sue Oakhurst Dairy for $10 million in unpaid overtime. 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