WIRTW #454 (the “Oxford comma, the results” edition)

Damn, does the Oxford comma have some traction. I can’t recall the last time a case as mundane as O’Connor v. Oakhurt Dairy lit up the internet. But it did. And I got curious—just how do people feel about the l’il ol’ Oxford comma. So I asked. And you responded, by the hundreds. You spoke loud and clear. You don’t just like the Oxford comma, you love it.

There you have it. By a margin of more than nine to one, the Oxford comma wins. As for the other eight percent, please step into the 21st century and start dropping in that comma before the “and” in your serial lists.

Here’s what I read this week:

Discrimination

• Does Judge Gorsuch Have Backwards Thoughts On Working Women And Pregnancy? — via Above the Law 
• When Joking with Your Employees Leads to Bad Behavior — via Harvard Business Review
• Pharmacist with fear of needles loses big Americans with Disabilities Act jury verdict in Second Circuit appeal — via How Appealing
• Doggone it! When an Employee is Allergic to a Coworker’s Service Animal Next Blog
• I Cannot Work On The Sabbath! — via FisherBroyles

Technology

• Where Are Your Employees? (Hint: It May Not Be Facebook Anymore) — via Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Are your federal contractor employees required to have privacy training? — via Robin Shea’s Employment & Labor Insider
• Phishing Your Employees for Schooling & Security — via Dark Reading
• Is Your Work Data Secure? Tips from IBM’s Security Officer — via In House
• FCC: Your cybersecurity isn’t our problem — via Engadget HD

HR & Employee Relations

• Generational Stereotyping: The Convenient Villain at Work — via Dave Tippett at The Employers’ Association
• Will the Gig Economy Make the Office Obsolete? — via Harvard Business Review
• Through Rain, Sleet, or Snow: The USPS Delivers a Helpful Example of Well-Executed Employment-Related Internal Investigations — via Trade Secret / Noncompete Blog
• General Counsel as Whistleblowers: Lessons from the Bio-Rad Case — via Outten & Golden Employment Law Blog
• State Marijuana Laws can Leave Employees Dazed and Confused about their Rights — via Jason Shinn’s Michigan Employment Law Advisor
• Are You Protecting Confidential Information When Using Independent Contractors? Try These 2 Tips. — via Who Is My Employee?

Wage & Hour

• HELP Committee Should Ask Acosta for Commitments to the DOL Mission and What Slashing the Labor Department Budget by 21 Percent Would Mean — via Workplace Fairness
• The Oxford Comma Case Proves We Need New Employment Laws, Not Better Grammar — via Evil HR Lady, Suzanne Lucas
• “The Oxford Comma Case Proves We Need New Employment Laws, Not Better Grammar” — via Walter Olson’s Overlawyered
• Federal Court Rejects Alternative Joint Employer Theory — via Workforce Freedom Initiative 
• Will Courts Ever Settle the Independent Contractor v. Employee Debate? — via Technologist
• Disney Pays $3.8M to End DOL’s Case Over Deduction of Workers Costumes From Pay — via Joe’s HR and Benefits Blog
• The FMLA may be amended to include leave for a parent to grieve the loss of a child — via Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog

Labor

• Supreme Court Decision on Wrongful Service by NLRB Official May Jeopardize Obama-Era Rulings — via Minnesota Employment Law Report
• Seventh Circuit ruling approves union fees — via CUE, Inc.
• Hirsch & Seiner: Unions Deserve a Place in the Uber Economy — via Workplace Prof Blog

OSHA & Safety

• Union’s Right to Walk Around Your Company with OSHA Being Challenged in Court — via Matt Austin Labor Law
• OSHA’s Top 10 Safety Violations — via Mike Haberman’s Omega HR Solutions
• OSHA’s Volks Rule Overturned by Congressional Review Act — via OSHA Law Blog