Q: My employer has a rule prohibiting firearms at work, even in the parking lot. I have a CPL (Concealed Pistol License) and feel that I should at least be able to lock my gun in my car, as I can with “pistol free zones,” when I go to work. Can my employer do this?
A: In short, yes. As you can imagine, your situation is not unique. In fact, it highlights a classic conflict of rights issue. The most basic right that goes along with being the owner or lessor of real estate, is the right to exclude others and decide what items are on the property. Of course, you also have a right to defend yourself. And, if you have a CPL, you have a legal right to conceal a pistol for that purpose. However, under current Michigan law, the rights of the owner/lessor of the real estate trump the rights of a CPL holder. So, whether you are customer, social guest, or employee, once you have reasonable notice that the owner/lessor of the real property prohibits firearms, your status changes to that of trespasser if you continue to possess, or carry firearms on that property.
As for the employment aspect of this type of situation, unless covered by an employment contract or collective bargaining agreement, generally an employee may be terminated for any reason. So, it is within the rights of the employer to make and enforce work rules that prohibit firearms, however illogical or poorly thought out they may be.
As was recently reinforced by a case I successfully argued before an Administrative Law Judge at the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, mere inadvertent rules violations do not disqualify a citizen from collecting unemployment benefits. In the particular case I refer to, an employee was terminated for wearing his pistol on the job in violation of the employer’s rules. The court ruled that he had inadvertently violated the rule, and allowed his unemployment benefits. However, there were extraordinary circumstances involved. The employee in question was a CPL holder wearing his pistol when he was alerted to a life or death emergency and responded to a natural disaster as part of a public safety team. The results may be different for an employee in a non-emergency situation. Furthermore, the employee is still subject to termination even though he may collect his unemployment benefits.
Florida has recently enacted legislation that would allow licensed individuals to secure their guns in their cars, even in parking lots owned or leased by entities that prohibit guns on their premises. The law is being challenged in court and the case is being watched carefully by interested eyes around the country. Expect more on that case here as it develops.
Steven W. Dulan is an attorney in private practice in East Lansing ( www.StevenWDulan.com ) , as well as a member of the MCRGO Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees of the MCRGO Foundation. He teaches firearms law as an adjunct professor at The Thomas M. Cooley Law School and is a volunteer long-range marksmanship instructor for pre-deployment troops under the auspices of the Civilian Marksmanship Program in cooperation with the Army Marksmanship Unit.
