posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 12:21 PM
by
Rod Satterwhite
Tenth Circuit Shoots Down Challenge to Firearms Policy
Sorry for the cornball title; sometimes you just can't resist. Professor Ross Runkel over at lawmemo.com has posted a good summary of the Tenth Circuit's decision this week in Bastible v. Weyerhaeuser, in which the court permitted the discharge of several employees who were found to have firearms in their vehicles on Company property. The employees challenged their discharge on public policy grounds, citing the right to bear arms provision in the Oklahoma constitution. The Court rejected that argument, primarily on the grounds that the right to bear arms could be subject to certain limitations, such as the one in question.
Interestingly, the discharges that spawned this lawsuit also resulted in an Oklahoma statute which prohibits employers from banning firearms in locked vehicles on premises. That statute, in turn, has been challenged by several employers, including ConocoPhillips. Read this story for more information on the current debate in Oklahoma.
Although Oklahoma seems to be leading the charge (in both directions), this issue is not isolated. In light of growing concerns over workplace violence, more employers are implementing policies like the ones at issue here. Thus employers outside Oklahoma should keep an eye on these developments (and so will we). Employers in Oklahoma should . . . well, just keep your head down until the dust settles.