The presence or absence of a single comma has cost companies millions in lawsuits
The Oxford (serial) comma is the comma placed before 'and' in a list. In 2017, Maine dairy drivers won a $5 million lawsuit against their employer because a state overtime law listed exemptions without an Oxford comma, making the law's meaning genuinely ambiguous. The sentence 'packing for shipment or distribution' — without a comma — could be read as one activity or two, and because workers couldn't distribute without packing, they argued they qualified for overtime. The comma's absence cost the company millions.
Grammar arguments feel like pedantic disputes with no real consequences. Discovering that a single punctuation mark has triggered seven-figure legal settlements makes grammatical precision feel suddenly and concretely important.
“The missing Oxford comma cost a Maine company $5 million in a 2017 lawsuit. Ambiguity in overtime rules — caused by one missing comma — meant dairy workers were owed years of back pay. , #OddlyHuman”