If often seems as ifthe on-going warover the Oxford comma is potential to rage on for as long as there is a write word . Proponents of it claim that the comma is necessary for snub throughany confusion in a sentence(it ’s also the side we here at mental_floss shine on ) . Critics , however , say that the comma is otiose , clunky , and maybe evena little flake elitist . But one dairy farm fellowship in Maine just find out that the Oxford comma is n’t just helpful — it could also keep you out of judicature .
of late , CNN account , a chemical group of livery driversfor Oakhurst Dairy break to motor inn against the company , claim that they are not nontaxable from the state ’s overtime natural law and should receivethe eld of overtime paythey were denied by the company . They were eventually vindicated when an appeals royal court sided with the drivers and ruled that the commonwealth ’s laws were written too ambiguously when it come to what is exempt from extra time pay . Here ’s the specific sentence in the state law that categorizes the act that are ineligible for overtime salary :
see at that first sentence . acknowledge anything miss ? If you ’re a pro - Oxford zealot , then it ’s probably like nail on a chalkboard . In its current form , it ’s easy to cogitate that “ pack for consignment or distribution ” just encompasses the literal act of compact a truck for shipment . The number one wood successfully fence that they do n’t physically mob the trucks ; they only distribute the item at bottom . Even though Oakhurst argue that the design of the law was to keep " distribution " as a separate act , that ’s not how it was interpreted . And since the driver do n’t pack , the court govern that they are n’t nontaxable from overtime pay .
With a simple Oxford comma , the sentence would be much more clear : “ The canning , processing , preserving , freezing , dry , marketing , storing , pack for shipment , or statistical distribution of … ” Without it , though , chaos rule . In fact , all of Maine ’s laws are written without the Oxford comma , so this might not be the last punctuation - related instance that goes to motor hotel .
It might seem unnecessary and superfluous to some , but in this representative , a simple Oxford comma butterfly could have saved this dairy farm caller a lot of money and sound headache . As U.S. appeal judgeDavid J. Barron wrote , " For want of a comma butterfly , we have this case . ”
[ h / t CNN ]
