Employee Gun Rights v. Good Risk Management: Can Anyone Win?

Written by Michael P. Lowry of Thorndal Armstrong Delk Balkenbush & Eisinger for the Spring/Summer 2016 issue of USLAW Magazine

The politics of guns in America are volatile, divisive and passionate. Yet the daily risk guns present to private businesses does not depend upon the politics of the moment. Instead employers must deal with the tragic fact of gun violence in America, and some of their options are limited.

FIREARMS: THE RISK MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS
It is not hard to envision the risks that employees with guns create. OSHA obligates an employer to provide “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.” 29 U.S.C. § 654(a)(1) (2015). Firearms could meet that definition, creating a compliance problem. The same firearm could also cause injury, leading to workers’ compensation claims. Employees with guns also create third-party risk. Those injured might sue, alleging negligent security because the employer or property owner negligently failed to prevent the injury or adequately protect against it….READ MORE.