Do employers have a duty to keep guns out of the workplace? Do they have the power to prohibit guns on their premises? Are they exposed to liability if they don't keep guns out of their workplaces? What has the Utah legislature said about these issues? Chris discusses these questions.

1. Guns in the Workplace
Chris Wangsgard
April 9, 2013
Salt Lake City
25th ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT LAW SEMINAR
parsonsbehle.com

2. a) Each employer –
1. Shall furnish to each of his employees
employment and a place of employment
which are free from recognized hazards that
are causing or are likely to cause death or
serious physical harm to his employees;
2. Shall comply with occupational safety and
health standards promulgated under this Act.
OSHA General Duty Clause
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3. 3
Sounds like you have to keep guns out of
your workplace – right?

4. The Oklahoma legislature passed a statute which
made it a crime for an employer to prohibit
employees from storing firearms in locked vehicles
on company property.
A group of businesses sued to enjoin enforcement,
contending that the Guns at Work statute
conflicted with, and was pre-empted by, the OSHA
statute which they contended required them to
keep guns out of their workplaces.
The Oklahoma Guns at Work Lawsuit
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5. The District Court agreed with the employers and
prohibited Oklahoma from enforcing the “Guns at
Work” statute.
The Oklahoma Guns at Work Lawsuit
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6. Oklahoma appealed.
The Tenth Circuit reversed the District Court.
The Tenth Circuit dug deeply into the OSHA
statute and the general duty clause and ruled
that neither required employers to keep guns
out of their workplaces.
The Oklahoma Guns at Work Lawsuit
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7.  OSHA has never issued any standard
regarding firearms – in fact in 2006 OSHA
expressly declined a request to
promulgate a standard banning firearms
from the workplace
(OSHA Standards Interpretation Letter, Sept. 13,
2006 available at 2006 WL 4093048)
Key Points
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8.  Firearms are not a “recognized hazard”
covered by the general duty clause; thus
the clause does not require employers to
ban them from the workplace
 OSHA does not conflict with, and does not
preempt, the Guns at Work statute
Key Points
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9. The Tenth Circuit dealt with that:
 OSHA has not promulgated any
mandatory standard for workplace
violence
 OSHA has issued voluntary
recommendations for:
– Healthcare and social services workers and
– Late-night retail establishments
But Aren’t We Required to
Prevent Workplace Violence?
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10. 34A-2-105 Exclusive Remedy
…right to recover compensation pursuant to this
chapter for injuries sustained by an employee…is
the exclusive remedy against the employer…is in
place of any and all other civil liability
whatsoever…on account of any accident or injury or
death, in any way contracted, sustained,
aggravated, or incurred by the employee in the
course of or because of or arising out of the
employee’s employment, and an action at law may
not be maintained against an employer…
But What if Someone Brings a Gun to
Work and Injures Another Employee?
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11.  You do have a common law duty to these
people, but it’s not absolute. It’s a duty to use
reasonable care to prevent foreseeable
injuries
 It’s the same duty a grocery store has to its
customers, so in a lawsuit, the issues will be
the gun equivalent of:
1. “did you know lettuce or water was on the
floor?” or
But What if an Employee Brings a Gun to
Work and Injures a Customer or Client?
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12. 2. “had the water or lettuce been on the floor long
enough that you should have known it was
there?” and
3. “was it reasonably foreseeable that the lettuce or
water could injure someone?” and
4. “were you negligent because you failed to
remove the lettuce or water?” and
5. “was your negligence if any, the direct and
proximate cause of the injury?”
But What if an Employee Brings a Gun to
Work and Injures a Customer or Client?
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13.  It would look like Vaughn v. Granite City Steel
(an Illinois case)
 George Vaughn’s body was found lying next to his
automobile in a parking lot provided by Granite
Steel. He had been shot twice. There were no
witnesses and no suspect was ever arrested.
 Mr. Vaughn’s heirs sued Granite Steel, alleging that
it had a duty to protect Mr. Vaughn from being shot
 A jury awarded the Vaughn family $450,000
So What Would the Gun Equivalent of a
Lettuce Leaf on the Store Floor Look Like?
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14.  On appeal the verdict was affirmed
because:
– Mr. Vaughn was in the parking lot to do
business with Granite Steel
– Granite Steel had a contract with a guard
force in which the guard force agreed it was
responsible to protect the people and vehicles
using the parking lot
Vaughn v. Granite City Steel
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15. – Granite Steel’s policy manual stated the
company’s plant protection department was
expected:
“To maintain the peace and protect all employees
and their property while they are on the Company’s
premises.
To deny access to all persons not specifically
authorized or properly invited.
To provide a readily available trained and
responsive force to function in emergencies.”
Vaughn v. Granite City Steel
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16. – Although no one had been shot in the
parking lot before Mr. Vaughn’s murder,
there had been 20 incidents of theft or
vandalism in the parking lot in the prior two
years
Vaughn v. Granite City Steel
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17.  Utah is one of 16 states with what has come to
be called a “Bring Your Gun to Work Law”
 Section 34-45-103 Utah Code states that no
employer, property owner, landlord, business
entity or other legal entity may establish,
maintain or enforce any policy or rule that has
the effect of prohibiting an individual from
transporting or storing a firearm in a motor
vehicle on any property designated for motor
vehicle parking
What Does Utah Law Say About
Guns in the Workplace?
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18.  Utah Law neither prohibits, nor expressly allows
excluding guns from business premises other
than parking lots
What Does Utah Law Say About Whether
Business Owners Can Exclude Guns From
Their Offices, Stores and Workplaces?
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19.  Nothing. The Constitution limits government
power. It does not impose duties between
private individuals or companies.
What Does the Second Amendment
Require or Forbid Your Company to Do
Regarding Your Employees?
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20. Company No Weapons Policy
Company prohibits all persons who enter any
property owned or leased by the company from
carrying on their person or in their vehicle a
handgun, firearm, or prohibited weapon of any kind
onto any company property regardless of whether
the person is licensed to carry a handgun or not.
What Does Utah Law Say About a
Policy Like This?
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21. This policy applies to all employees, contract and
temporary employees, visitors on company
property and clients and contractors on company
property, whether or not they are licensed to carry
a concealed handgun. The only exceptions to this
policy are police officers, security guards or other
persons who have been given written consent by
company to carry a weapon on the property.
What Does Utah Law Say About a
Policy Like This?
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22. All company employees are also prohibited from
carrying a weapon while in the course and scope
of performing their job for the company, whether or
not they are on company property at the time and
whether or not they are licensed to carry a
handgun. This policy also prohibits weapons at
any company sponsored function such as parties
or picnics.
What Does Utah Law Say About a
Policy Like This?
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23.  Chris Wangsgard
direct: (801) 536.6782
email: cwangsgard@parsonsbehle.com
Thank You
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