Caught in the Crosshairs

Finding a way to balance the individual right to bear arms with the requirement to create a safe workplace can challenge human resource professionals, and gun control is certainly a con-troversial political topic. However, employers have legitimate concerns about weapons in the workplace for practical and business reasons. Three-fourths of all workplace fatalities are re-lated to guns, and many tragic incidents of worker-committed gun violence have occurred in recent years. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects a citizen's right to own and bear arms and, as mentioned earlier, 20 states have enacted laws that allow employees and others to carry firearms on an employer's premises. Some of these laws specifically address concealed weapons and affirmatively permit storing firearms in a privately owned vehicle in an employer's parking lot. The courts have found that such laws are not pre-empted by OSHAs general duty clause. This leaves employers to find a way to satisfy these competing mandates. Important things to determine include:

1. How does the company define the term weapon? Is it only guns, or do other weapons such as knives or machetes also qualify as weapons?

2. How does the company define the term workplace? Does the workplace include an employer's parking lot?

3. If the company decides to permit firearms in employees' vehicles, what measures will be put in place to minimize risks? Must all weapons be locked in a vehicle's trunk? Must ammunition be kept separately from the firearm itself?

4. If security guards are authorized to carry weapons, what steps are taken to ensure that they are properly screened and trained? This is an evolving and controversial issue. HR professionals should stay informed about legislation in all states in which the organization has employees and operations. The primary consideration should be for a safe workplace for everyone. Employers should continue to monitor court rulings and address the issue proactively!" Based on these issues, consider the following questions:

1. How do you feel about the right to bear arms and whether companies should be limited in restricting employees from having weapons on the premises?

2. What restrictions would you recommend to companies regarding weapons in the workplace?