Concealed Firearms in the Workplace

Whether you realize it or not guns in the workplace are more prevalent now than ever in our history. In the United States there are now 22 states that allow people to keep firearms in their personal automobiles while parked in an employer’s parking lots or structures, which means that guns are now only steps away from the workplace.

In the last several years more states have also experienced court cases where their laws restricting firearm possession by citizens, or the right to carry concealed by private citizens, have been overturned. It is now legal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to own a firearm, and states that restricted the issuance of concealed carry permits in the past now find that in many case they “shall issue” permits to qualified people. The fact of the matter is that the 2^nd Amendment right to bear arms has been challenged numerous times in the courts, and in many cases the courts have found that citizens continue to have the right. So what does this mean for employers?

All businesses, regardless of their size, need to take this issue seriously and insure that they have policies in place that address firearms in the workplace whether it is an employee or customer/visitor that has the weapon. Business owners/management also needs to be ready to respond without hesitation to enforce their policies.

At the present time many employers prohibit the possession of firearms in the workplace, with the exception of on-duty law enforcement officers or designated security personnel. However, in most cases there are no protocols in place to be 100% certain that no firearms are in the workplace.

Unauthorized Firearms at Work

For example, in July 2014 a shooting took place at the Wellness Center at the Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital campus in Darby, PA. In this incident it was reported that a patient entered the workplace and shot and killed his case worker. At the same time a doctor who was in the same area pulled out his personal firearm and engaged the suspect in a firefight. In the end both the doctor and the suspect were wounded and the case worker died from gunshot wounds.

What is interesting with this case is that immediately after this shooting the police, employees, and the media called the doctor a hero for undoubtedly saving a lot of lives that day. However, the hospital had a no tolerance policy for firearms in the workplace and the doctor was not authorized to have the gun at work. It became clear quickly that the hospital was not going to pursue actions against the doctor in this case.

No Weapon Policy Enforcement

With the shooting mentioned above comes another potential reaction that employers have to consider, and that is more employees may be bringing firearms into the workplace for self protection. Certainly that risk is higher now because employees just witnessed a tragic event that was terminated by a doctor using his personal firearm and he was not disciplined as a result.

Keep in mind that historically speaking the enforcement of such policies is an “Honor System,” meaning that the majority of businesses do not actively search or screen employees, visitors, customers and so on, and they rely on most people being honest and not bringing weapons into the business or workplace. There is no doubt that not everyone is honorable, and in some cases people will actually forget that they are carrying a weapon.

Concealed Firearms in the Workplace

The carrying of concealed weapons is probably more common now than any time in our country’s history. In some states open carry (carrying a firearm that is not concealed) is also common, and you will often see a person with a pistol on their belt.

When you monitor the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) stats each month you will see how common firearms are with the numbers of guns found during screening at the airports. At first glance you might think, how stupid can someone be to forget to leave their gun in the car or at home, however the issue is not that simple.

Citizens that exercise their right to carry concealed get so used to having the firearm with them that they simply forget about it being in their purse, backpack, or briefcase. So in essence, the intent was not to bring a firearm through security at the airport, they merely forgot they had it on them. It may be like their wallet or debit card; they never leave home without it. According to the TSA they often hear excuses like that from passengers that are found to be in possession of firearms at the airport screening stations. However, that is not a valid excuse and those found to be in possession of firearms are always arrested.

Employers Must Respond to Firearms in the Workplace

As with many employee issues it is the responsibility of Human Resources (HR) to manage employee actions in the workplace. There is no doubt that HR must adopt and enforce policies specific to the laws that have jurisdiction over their facilities. For those employers that have facilities in several different states, this may mean that their policies are vastly different depending on the state in which they are located.

We all know that just having a policy in place will not prevent an employee from doing something that is contrary to the organization’s objective. That being the case the employer, namely HR, has to recognize the fact that employees may violate an existing policy with no intended malice.

Prohibiting Firearms in the Workplace

Employers have the right to make and enforce rules on private property that they own or manage. However, as stated earlier 22 states now allow employees or others to store firearms in their personal vehicles in the parking areas. Other states have either passed laws that allow certain employees to carry firearms at work (e.g. teachers in some school districts), or are working on legislation that will allow employees to have firearms at work, thus employers do not always have the last say.

Many property owners have posted their property with signs that prohibit the firearms from either being on the property all together, or they are posted on the entrance doors of the buildings. However they have no means in which to enforce this regulation in many cases.

Case in point, at a national big box retailer they have the perimeter of their property posted with signs prohibiting firearms on the property, yet on several occasions I have seen citizens excising their rights to open carry inside the retail space. This retailer does not have a security department, but they do employ loss prevention agents that handle most security concerns. However, in not one case has loss prevention approached the person with a gun on their hip and asked them to leave, which is the normal protocol according to several retail managers. It begs the question why post the signs if you are not going to enforce them or have no means in which to enforce them?

Increased Liability

Does the posting of signs lessen your risks or decrease your liability exposure? There are undoubtedly a lot of different thoughts on that question, and suffice it to say that signs state your rules but do not stop weapons from entering your facility. Does this mean that everyone that carries a weapon beyond the sign has harmful intentions? No, it does not. Signs at the entrances are a part of an overall security workplace violence prevention strategy. The key point is they are just one element of an overall strategy. Firearm policies have to be a part of an all-encompassing workplace violence prevention program, and you have to insure that not only do you have policies in place, but that you also have a means and protocol in place to enforce those policies.

Whether or not your organization has a security department, or for that matter a Human Resource department, workplace violence is a risk management issue and needs to be an important part of your organization’s security culture.

Security Response to Firearms

• Develop a policy and insure that all members of management not only understand it but enforce it with consistency as well.
• Align your workplace policies on firearms and other weapons with federal, state or local laws.
• Have answers ready that are aligned with your organizations policies for those times when employees ask about their safety and security.
• Work on your security culture to insure that it is aligned with your core values and has taken into consideration your potential risks for weapons and workplace violence.

So, what are the chances that a firearm or other dangerous weapon is in your facility right now contrary to your policies and what are you doing about it?