Georgia's "bring Your Gun to Work" Law May Not Have the Firepower to Trouble Georgia Employers After All
| Publication year | 2009 |
| Pages | 0012 |
by Thomas A. Cox Jr. and Sonya Madison
Hailed by some Georgia employers as an example of dangerous and possibly harmful public policy, while praised by others as a way to prevent crime, in the end, Georgia's "Bring Your Gun to Work" law[1] may not pack the firepower that its drafters originally intended. The new Georgia law prohibits searching an employee's vehicle and permits employees to have licensed guns in parking lots. The law is riddled with loopholes that may actually aid Georgia employers in preventing employees from bringing firearms onto an employer's property. A question remains as to whether the existence of the statute in and of itself raises additional implications regarding the duty of Georgia employers to provide a safe workplace.
General Overview of the Law
Formally known as the "Business Security and Employee Privacy Act," the law allows holders of concealed weapons to carry firearms in all parks, historic sites, recreational areas and wildlife management areas in Georgia.[2] The law is of particular interest to Georgia employers because it allows employees to bring concealed weapons onto an employer's property as long as the weapons are stored out of sight in a locked trunk or glove box within a motor vehicle, and the employee possesses a valid Georgia firearms license.[3] An employer's property would include the parking lots of Georgia employers. The law also prevents an employer from searching an employee's or invited guest's motor vehicle for a firearm.[4]
Georgia is Not Alone
Several other states have passed laws that prohibit employers from banning the possession of licensed firearms in employee-owned vehicles parked on employer premises. The state laws regarding employer restrictions on firearm possession in employee automobiles are generally summarized and divided into two categories. The first category includes those states with laws that constitute a severe restriction on employer regulation of firearms in parking lots. The second category, which includes Georgia, comprises those states whose laws contain significant exceptions that weaken the law's actual impact on employers.
States with Severe Restrictions
Florida
Florida prohibits employers from asking employees whether they have a firearm inside a vehicle on the employer's parking lot, searching a vehicle in a parking lot for a firearm, prohibiting access to a parking lot because of the presence of a firearm in a motor vehicle, taking any action against an individual because of a firearm in a motor vehicle, terminating employment of an employee for possession of a firearm in a vehicle or discriminating against an employee who exhibits a gun in the parking lot if the exhibition was for lawful defensive purposes.[5] The law only applies where the employee in question has a concealed weapons permit.
Kentucky
Kentucky prevents employers from prohibiting any person legally entitled to possess a firearm from possessing such firearm in a vehicle on the employer's property. The law also provides that a firearm may be removed from the vehicle or handled in the case of self-defense, defense of another or defense of property.[6]
Louisiana
Louisiana prevents private employers from prohibiting any person from transporting or storing a firearm in a locked, privately-owned motor vehicle in any parking lot, parking garage or other designated parking area. Employers may require that any such firearm be hidden from plain view or held within a locked case or container within the vehicle.[7]
Minnesota
Minnesota provides that "the owner or operator of a private establishment may not prohibit the lawful carry or possession of firearms in a parking facility or parking area."[8] The law does allow employers to ban possession of firearms in buildings or other structures and provides for criminal fines for individuals who refuse a property owner's request that firearms not be brought into an establishment.[9]
Oklahoma
In 2005, Oklahoma passed a parking lot gun law that prevented employers from establishing "any policy or rule that has the effect of prohibiting any person, except a convicted felon, from transporting and storing firearms in a locked motor vehicle, or from transporting and storing firearms locked in or locked to a motor vehicle on any property set aside for any vehicle."[10]
States with Significant Exceptions
In addition to the Georgia statute, the Mississippi statute is also recognized in the category of states with significant exceptions to their "bring your gun to work" laws, thus allowing employers to restrict employees from bringing firearms to work.
Mississippi
Mississippi prevents employers from adopting policies prohibiting a person from transporting or storing a firearm in a locked vehicle in any parking lot, parking garage or other designated parking area. The Mississippi law also allows private employers to prohibit the storage of firearms in vehicles in parking areas to which access is restricted or limited through the use of a gate, security station or other means. The law does not provide any civil penalties for violation.[11]
Although similar to Georgia in that these laws would not prevent an employer from banning weapons in the actual workplace, they do place other restrictions on employers' efforts to regulate the possession of firearms in employer parking lots.[12] Georgia's law also includes significant exceptions that weaken its actual impact on employers.
Loopholes for Employers
The prospect of employees in the workplace with ready access to firearms is not likely to be favorably viewed by most employers. A closer examination of the Georgia law reveals that the statute may not actually promote a likelihood of firearm-related violence in the workplace as might have been originally feared. There are various steps that an employer can take to limit the availability of weapons to its employees in the workplace.
The statute recognizes that any employer that owns or leases its parking lot has a right to control the access to the property. Therefore, Georgia employers can ban guns on their legal property, including all parking lots. Employers, however, are not free to ensure that employees are complying with such bans.[13] In other...
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