There’s a policy for nearly everything at work: the do’s and dont’s of e-mail, grooming, smoking, civility and romance. And although many employers may have a policy about weapons in the workplace, many don’t. Even if they do, it may now need to be more explicit.

For those that don’t, “the thought was that it was a given—‘of course you can’t bring guns in here’ kind of thing,” says attorney Mekesha Montgomery of Frost Brown Todd in Cincinnati.

But now that up to 46 states have concealed carry laws, companies are rethinking the issue. These laws allow law-abiding individuals to obtain permits to carry concealed handguns. And because of the laws (most of which have similar provisions), without an explicit workplace policy saying employees can’t bring guns to private employers’ workplaces, they can.

“Although it would be a tough argument to make, an employee could claim that because the law states that he or she is permitted to carry a concealed weapon absent a policy to the contrary, if the employer’s policy does not specifically prohibit concealed weapons from the workplace, the employer has implicitly allowed it,” says Philadelphia attorney Michael Cohen of Wolf Block.

Most companies he deals with have weapons policies, but they typically fall short by not specifically precluding concealed weapons.

Employers, private property owners and tenants who want to prohibit handguns on their premises now need to also post signs in conspicuous locations that notify visitors, guests and customers that handguns and other weapons aren’t permitted on the premises, says Montgomery.

In addition, employers need to also make it clear that concealed weapons aren’t allowed in cars parked on company premises.

With the new legislation, lawyers say they’re now getting calls from employers mostly concerned with how to reiterate their weapons policy “so that employees are aware of the fact it trumps the new law,” says Montgomery. They’re also looking for help on how to word the signs they’re required to now post to prohibit guests from bringing weapons onto company property.

Timothy Dimoff, a security and weapons expert and president of SACS Consulting & Investigative Services in Akron, Ohio, says he sees a definite trend with more and more companies writing workplace weapons policies.

But just because you can prohibit weapons doesn’t necessarily mean that you want to, says Montgomery. She says several companies—mostly retailers—have been boycotted by gun advocate groups because they posted signs prohibiting weapons carried by customers and prohibited employees from carrying weapons in their cars while parked on company property. These types of companies “have to take into account the potential for some backlash,” she says.

If an employer does want to avoid potential problems, they need to craft an effective no weapons policy in their employee handbooks, says Montgomery. It would clearly state that employees cannot carry any weapons on company property that includes parking lots and company cars. Spell out what will happen to someone if they do bring a weapon into the workplace and list a human resource professional employees can contact if they have any questions.

“It is also a good idea to have every employee sign an acknowledgment of receipt of the policy/handbook,” she adds.

Bottom line, “the focus is on keeping people safe—as it should be,” says Montgomery.

© by Andrea Kay