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<blockquote data-quote="Dave70968" data-source="post: 3172590" data-attributes="member: 13624"><p>It's not <em>necessary</em>, but it can often provide additional clarity (as above). Some style guides require it; others--such as the AP, used in the news--specify that it <em>not</em> be used.</p><p></p><p>The case I had in mind is discussed at <a href="https://qz.com/932004/the-oxford-comma-a-maine-court-settled-the-grammar-debate-over-serial-commas-with-a-ruling-on-overtime-pay-for-dairy-truck-drivers/" target="_blank">https://qz.com/932004/the-oxford-comma-a-maine-court-settled-the-grammar-debate-over-serial-commas-with-a-ruling-on-overtime-pay-for-dairy-truck-drivers/</a></p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">A Maine court ruling in a case about overtime pay and dairy delivery didn’t come down to trucks, milk, or money. Instead, it hinged on one missing comma.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Delivery drivers for local milk and cream company Oakhurst Dairy have been tussling with their employers over whether they qualify for overtime. On March 13, <a href="http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca1/16-1901/16-1901-2017-03-13.html" target="_blank">a US court of appeals determined</a> that certain clauses of Maine’s overtime laws are grammatically ambiguous. Because of that lack of clarity, the five drivers have won their lawsuit against Oakhurst, and are eligible for unpaid overtime.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">…</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">According to state law, the following types of activities are among those that don’t qualify for overtime pay:</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The canning, processing, preserving,</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">freezing, drying, marketing, storing,</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">packing for shipment or distribution of:</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">(1) Agricultural produce;</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">(2) Meat and fish products; and</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">(3) Perishable foods.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">There, in the comma-less space between the words “shipment” and “or,” the fate of <em>Kevin O’Connor v. Oakhurst Dairy</em> was argued. Is packing (for shipment or distribution) a single activity that is exempt from overtime pay? Or are packing and distributing two different activities, and both exempt?</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">If lawmakers had used a serial comma, it would have been clear that distribution was an overtime-exempt activity on its own. But without the comma, wrote US appeals judge David J. Barron, the law is ambiguous as to whether distribution is a separate activity, or whether the whole last clause—”packing for shipment or distribution”—is one activity, meaning only the people who pack the dairy products are exempt. The drivers do distribute, but do not pack, the perishable food.</p><p></p><p>(<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/15/health/oxford-comma-maine-court-case-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN also carried a story</a>, albeit with rather more snark and self-important smugness.)</p><p></p><p>Seriously, folks. Use it; it may save you a lot of money in the right context!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dave70968, post: 3172590, member: 13624"] It's not [I]necessary[/I], but it can often provide additional clarity (as above). Some style guides require it; others--such as the AP, used in the news--specify that it [I]not[/I] be used. The case I had in mind is discussed at [URL]https://qz.com/932004/the-oxford-comma-a-maine-court-settled-the-grammar-debate-over-serial-commas-with-a-ruling-on-overtime-pay-for-dairy-truck-drivers/[/URL] [INDENT] A Maine court ruling in a case about overtime pay and dairy delivery didn’t come down to trucks, milk, or money. Instead, it hinged on one missing comma. Delivery drivers for local milk and cream company Oakhurst Dairy have been tussling with their employers over whether they qualify for overtime. On March 13, [URL='http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca1/16-1901/16-1901-2017-03-13.html']a US court of appeals determined[/URL] that certain clauses of Maine’s overtime laws are grammatically ambiguous. Because of that lack of clarity, the five drivers have won their lawsuit against Oakhurst, and are eligible for unpaid overtime. … According to state law, the following types of activities are among those that don’t qualify 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. There, in the comma-less space between the words “shipment” and “or,” the fate of [I]Kevin O’Connor v. Oakhurst Dairy[/I] was argued. Is packing (for shipment or distribution) a single activity that is exempt from overtime pay? Or are packing and distributing two different activities, and both exempt? If lawmakers had used a serial comma, it would have been clear that distribution was an overtime-exempt activity on its own. But without the comma, wrote US appeals judge David J. Barron, the law is ambiguous as to whether distribution is a separate activity, or whether the whole last clause—”packing for shipment or distribution”—is one activity, meaning only the people who pack the dairy products are exempt. The drivers do distribute, but do not pack, the perishable food.[/INDENT] ([URL='http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/15/health/oxford-comma-maine-court-case-trnd/index.html']CNN also carried a story[/URL], albeit with rather more snark and self-important smugness.) Seriously, folks. Use it; it may save you a lot of money in the right context! [/QUOTE]
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