Employer states I can't keep CCW in car

[45 colt]

I am crew member at a local fast food establishment. We are not allowed to carry while on the job. Recently my supervisor stated that we can not have our ccw in our car while we are at work. I don't think that my employer can keep me from having it in my car. Thoughts?

[OttoJara]

My employer had the same rules, about a year ago or so they said if you have a ccw you can have it in your car. I do believe that this is a violation of your 2A.

[ScottRiqui]

Is the parking lot exclusive to the fast-food establishment? If it is, the property/business owner or his designated representative can set the rules.

But if it's a shared parking lot (like in a strip mall), or if you just park somewhere else, the owner/manager of the restaurant doesn't have much say in the matter (although the owner/manager of the strip mall may have a policy.)

[Florida Cracker]

I think the law varies from state to state. Here in FL, the CCW permit allows you keep the weapon in your vehicle while at work and your employer can't fire you for it.

However, the folks at Disney are challenging that. It seems they fired a security guard that kept his personal weapon in his vehicle and the he is challenging them in court.

Edit: Here's a link discussing the Disney case. It seems the employee dropped the case against Disney because of the cost.

http://www.usacarry.com/forums/polit...yee-fired.html

[JohnKSa]

I don't think that my employer can keep me from having it in my car. Thoughts?

He may not be able to prosecute you for it, but with the exception of only a couple of states, he can surely fire you for failing to abide by company policy.

FL and OK prevent employers from firing employees for legally having firearms in their vehicles on company property.

[Musketeer]

Legally it depends on how the state regards the parking lot. Some states have passed laws preventing employers from banning the legal storage of firearms in employee vehicles, others have not. Without knowing any better the safe argument is the parking lot is their property and they can regulate it.

Now I do not agree with that position. If all they can do is fire you and your position is that of working on the line at a fast food joint I would probably risk it. You could also look into the employee handbook regarding the ability of an employer to search an employee's vehicle.

I knew a girl at the Taco Bell near my apartment almost 20 years ago in FL that I saw every day or two. She was walked into the freezer along with her coworkers and executed by a former employee who showed up with a friend to rob the place at closing. I also think SmartCarry is a great product and that is a good policy to never discuss CCW around co-workers unless you happen to work at a gunshop.

[Webleymkv]

It depends on your state. Here in Indiana, for example, Gov. Daniels recently signed into law that an employer cannot take disciplinary action against an employee who keeps a firearm in his or her car so long as said firearm is "not in plain view". The company that I work for is a nationwide corporation and does have a corporate no-weapons policy, however, specific exemptions are made to comply with Indiana law and similar laws in other states.

As others have said, assuming your state has no law similar to that of Indiana, your employer may take disciplinary action such as terminating your employment if you are found to have a weapon in your car so long as your car is parked on company property. If, however, you are not parked on company property, like you park on a public street or in a public parking lot or parking garage, there is likely little that your employer can do. It is unlikely that your employer could take any legal action against you for keeping a gun in your car, but you should check your local laws, specifically those regarding trespassing and CCW, before assuming this is automatically true.

[Retired15T]

It's pretty easy really. If your State doesn't have a law allowing you to have the weapon in your car, you can just tell your employer you will abide by the rules. Then keep your CCW out of sight of ANYONE who works where you do. Even if you have a friend you trust, don't tell them if they also work there. When friendships end, people can get very petty.

Your employer cannot search your car to ensure your compliance.

[JohnKSa]

Your employer cannot search your car to ensure your compliance.

It is true that they can't legally force you to let them in your vehicle. But if they can fire you for having a legal gun in your car then they can also fire you if they ask you for a look in your vehicle and you refuse.

In other words, they can make it a condition of your continued employment that you will VOLUNTARILY allow them to search your vehicle upon request.

[Retired15T]

It is true that they can't legally force you to let them in your vehicle. But if they can fire you for having a legal gun in your car then they can also fire you if they ask you for a look in your vehicle and you refuse.

In other words, they can make it a condition of your continued employment that you will VOLUNTARILY allow them to search your vehicle upon request.

Just because I've not heard of any civilian employer requiring that as a condition of continued employment doesn't mean it hasn't happened. But I would imagine there would be no shortage of pro bono lawyers who would love to make a name for themselves in a case like that.

Just Google Pro Bono Lawyers and see the sites that pop up. A case like that would get national attention rather easily I'd suspect. An employer has no right to impinge upon your personal freedoms of protection. Unless it's the Army.

[Kreyzhorse]

It varies by state. In Kentucky, an employer can't bar you from having a legally owned gun in your vehicle. Your state may be different however and likely is.

I'd check out www.handgunlaw.us for some insight into the laws that effect your state.

[kadima]

they also may choose to never check and the employer's rule is just to cover their backside.

In the event the employee makes bad use of the weapon they won't admit liability because the weapon was verboten.

Just my two euro-cents....

K.

[ScottRiqui]

If you want to look up the laws in your particualr state, you can search for "take your gun to work" laws, since that's the common name given to the various laws that protect employees who keep guns in their cars on employer property.

[TheJ]

Typically employers have no grounds to tell you what you may have in your car (and probably really don't care) but they do have the grounds to not allow firearms on their property. So basically unless you are in a state that specifically prevents an employer from making rules against it then it comes down to what they allow on their property. If your not parked on the employers property then of course it's a non-issue. However, if you are parking on their property then they generally have the right to disallow guns on the property just like any other property owner would.

[mapsjanhere]

The problem with insisting on your right to carry is that your boss can insist on his right to lay you off at any time without providing reason, unless you have a contract limiting that option. Otherwise you'll be assumed to be an "at will" employee and can be terminated at any point.

[DG45]

Speaking strictly for myself, I could care less what an employer says about this as long as what I'm doing is Legal in my state and nation.

Employers are concerned about "liability". They could care less about their employees safety. I, on the other hand, am concerned about my safety and could care less about their "liability.

Sure they can fire me if they learn about it - if they want to lose an a good employee. Thats just one of about a hundred reasons they could fire me.

[brickeyee]

Just because I've not heard of any civilian employer requiring that as a condition of continued employment doesn't mean it hasn't happened. But I would imagine there would be no shortage of pro bono lawyers who would love to make a name for themselves in a case like that.

Just Google Pro Bono Lawyers and see the sites that pop up. A case like that would get national attention rather easily I'd suspect. An employer has no right to impinge upon your personal freedoms of protection. Unless it's the Army.

And you will lose in any 'at will' employment state unless you are covered by a contract.

Employers are free to fire you for ANY reason they can dream up that does not conflict with the 'protected class' rules.

Your employer could decide to fire everyone whose first name begins with the letter 'J.'
That is not a 'protected class' and it would hold up.

'At will' employment means you can leave without notice, and you can be fired for any reason (or no reason).

[kodiakbeer]

How would he even know you had a gun in your car? Why would you tell your employer or anyone else that you had a gun in your car?

Sometimes people create their own problems...

[Pbearperry]

If I was flipping burgers in a bad neighborhood I would carry something small and easy to conceal.I would tell nobody about it and go about my work.If some nut job came in and started harming folks,I would do my best to get out of there and if I had to shoot a few rounds off to do it so be it.
You only get one life.Low paying jobs are abundant.Just my 2cents.

[Miketodd04]

WOOHOO!! If you are from indiana, the new law goes into effect today that your employer CAN NOT tell you can't keep your CCW in your vehicle while at work, if you have your carry permit. They can however, dictate where you park...if they know you carry. It was decided a few months ago that even though you are on private property, they can't dictate if you keep it in your car or not as long as legally you can have it in your car.
Go INDIANA!!
Anyway, as far as your delimma...unless it is private property, in most states they can't tell you no...however, ignorance is bliss and no one at my work knows I carry.

[JohnKSa]

Just because I've not heard of any civilian employer requiring that as a condition of continued employment doesn't mean it hasn't happened. But I would imagine there would be no shortage of pro bono lawyers who would love to make a name for themselves in a case like that.

Not in a "right to work" or "at will" state.

My employer has a policy like the one I described. At their discretion they can ask to search my vehicle. I don't have to let them do it, but if I refuse I won't have a job.

If they find anything in it that violates their policy (including legal firearms) I won't have a job.

How would he even know you had a gun in your car? Why would you tell your employer or anyone else that you had a gun in your car?

I know of 2 folks who have been fired under the policy. One had a car fire in the parking lot and his handgun was discovered in the wreckage.

Another's ex-wife set him up and then notified security that he had a firearm in the vehicle.

And while it hasn't happened where I work, in at least one case in OK, a company hired "gun-sniffing dogs" to come in and go through the lot. If the dog alerted on a vehicle then the employee had to open the vehicle and if there was a firearm in it they were fired. The fired employees challenged in court and lost, however the OK legislature passed a law to prevent a repeat performance.

[EricFi1]

a retail store I worked for years back had a rule of no firearms OR related firearms material allowed on the property, including your personal vehicle.
An employee ignored this rule and showed customers his new desert eagle out of his trunk. when the manager wasn't in one day, he got into a conversation with a customer about guns, and came in with his desert eagle, in the store, and just started talking guns and ammo.
It didn't bother any of us and we didn't care either, as it wasn't us who were breaking rules.
Well another customer was very upset about it, and told someone about it. They told the company HQ. the spoils of being ratted out rolled downhill within 2 days. never seen a huge corporation move that quick. All of us were interviewd by the district manager, and we didn't lie, but we did get write ups because we didn't report it to the store manager. the guy who had his pistol had it locked in a box in his trunk. the DM was an ex army guy. He got him talking about guns, and sure enough.. the guy was happy to show off his pistol.
What ticked us all off.. he wasn't reprimanded. He was reminded of the rules, shown the rules and was asked to not bring the pistol back onto the store's property, which was essentially the entire parking lot.
We didn't think it was fair, but looking back. I'm glad the DM said something instead of us. We were able to work with the guy and not have him upset at us.
He continued to bring his pistol in his car. He parked his car on the street, basically 6' from the parking lot driveway. Nobody could do anything.

[Crosshair]

Dang, that's rough. The only rules my boss has is to make sure not to leave my guns in the work vesicles when I go home. He's still pestering me to get my Utah so I can carry in Minnesota.

[davem]

Regarding Florida- there is at least one retail chain that restricts its employees from keeping a firearm in their vehicle so if there is a law on that- I'd like to know.
BUT....as I personally see matters, the Fourth Amendment protects you from unreasonable searches. It doesn't say searches only by the government, you have a right to be secure in your papers and effects. The courts have generally held your "home" includes your physical body, your boat, your car. That's why in a lot of States if you buy a hunting license and are in a hunting area, a game warden can search your car- the license says you accept that situation as part of buying the license. In any event I see your car as your "home" and what you have in that car is no one's business, employers included. I think if employees stood up for their rights a lot of this intrusion would stop.
And....I think I'm being reasonable. I myself have owned a couple of small businesses and my employees MADE ME MONEY. I was glad to have them. I never even considered telling them to take a drug test, a lie detector test, seaching them and their car. If I don't treat others that way why should I have to be treated that way in order to get a job?

[Glenn E. Meyer]

You can resist the search and then they fire you. That's what people don't get - you are protected from unreasonable search but not being fired.