Blog Post: Arizona passes 'Guns-At-Work' legislation

New law prohibits employers from enforcing rules that keep employees from properly storing a firearm

BY MONDAQ.COM

via NewsEdge Corporation

Updated: 08-10-2009 12:32 pm

Similar laws have been passed in other states including Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah. Below is a brief discussion of the requirements under Arizona's law and suggestions for various parking lot arrangements. Although the law does not take effect until September 30, 2009, Arizona employers are advised to modify their policies about guns in the workplace and provide appropriate training in anticipation of the new law's effective date.

How The New Law Applies To Arizona Employers: The new law prohibits property owners, tenants, and public or private employers or business entities from maintaining or enforcing any policy or rule that would forbid employees, as well as other individuals such as visitors and customers, from lawfully transporting or lawfully storing any firearm that:

is in the employee's locked and privately owned vehicle or in a locked compartment on the employee's privately owned motorcycle; and not visible from outside of the vehicle or motorcycle. The new law, however, is not without restrictions. Specifically, employers may prohibit an employee from carrying a firearm in their vehicle while parked on company property if any federal or state law prohibits the employee from possessing the firearm, or if complying with the law would result in the employer violating other federal or state laws or regulations. Further, the law does not apply if the parking lot, parking garage, or other area designated for parking vehicles or motorcycles is located on an owner- or tenant-occupied, single-family detached residence.

Moreover, employers may prohibit employees from carrying or storing firearms in any vehicles owned or leased by the employer when the employees are using the vehicle for their employment. Of course, an employee may transport or store a firearm in an employer owned or leased vehicle if the employer provides consent to do so or the employee is required to do so as part of the employee's official duties. The law also does not apply if the employer is a current United States Department of Defense contractor and the parking lot is located in whole or in part on a United States military base or military installation.

An employer also may prohibit employees from leaving firearms in their vehicles parked in the primary parking lot if the employer provides alternative parking in a location reasonably close to the primary parking area and does not charge an extra fee for such parking. Similarly, some employers provide parking lots or parking garages secured by a fence or other physical barrier and limit access to the area by a guard or other security measure. In these situations, the employer may prohibit employees from storing their firearms in their vehicles or motorcycles in the secured parking areas if the employer provides employees with temporary and secure storage for their firearms while the vehicles are parked in the secure area. However, the employer must monitor the storage, make it readily accessible to employees when entering and leaving the premises, and provide for immediate retrieval of the firearm when the employees leave the premises.

What The New Law Does Not Address: "Guns-at-Work" laws in some other states are more detailed and impose greater restrictions on or provide greater rights to employers than Arizona's law. For example, in Georgia, employers are specifically permitted to search their employees' vehicles for firearms if there is a reasonable risk of an immediate threat to human life or safety or if the employee consents, based on probable cause that the employee is unlawfully possessing their employer's property. On the other hand, in Florida, employers are not allowed to inquire about the presence of a firearm in a vehicle and are not permitted to search a private vehicle to determine whether it contains a firearm. Unlike the laws in Georgia and Florida, the new law in Arizona does not contain any restrictions on the ability of an employer to search an employee's vehicle for firearms if the vehicle is located in the company's parking lot. As a result, particularly when the employer has a policy notifying employees that the employer may search all personal property, including vehicles, employers in Arizona generally are free to search employees' vehicles parked on company property, but the employer nonetheless should carefully evaluate whether a search is necessary and, if so, whether law enforcement should be contacted to perform the search.

Georgia's law also states it does not apply to employees who are restricted from carrying or possessing a firearm on the employer's premises due to a completed or pending disciplinary action, as may be appropriate for employees disciplined for fighting or engaging in other types of violent or threatening behavior. Arizona's law does not similarly allow an employer to prohibit employees from keeping a firearm in their vehicle if the employee has engaged in violent behavior in the workplace. Because Arizona employers may not discipline an employee, regardless of the employee's violent tendencies, for having a gun in his/her vehicle, terminating the employee for the workplace violence is the best course of action.