CCW at work question.

[BoomStick82]

I just got hired at a job where I would like to be able to CCW (a "payday advance" type place) because there is lots of cash on hand. The rules in the employee handbook say "no firearms or other prohibited weapons allowed." I am pretty sure that if I got caught carrying at work I would be fired, or if I had to draw and use the weapon the same would happen. BUT there are no signs prohibiting CCW on the premisis according to the law here in Missouri. So while I understand that I could get fired for having the weapon, assuming that I have a valid CCW permit, could I get into legal trouble as well?

 

[larry_minn]

Well I would take it easy the first week. And not carry. Find out what goes on and then decide. Do they have decent security there? Buzz people in, only two people at a time? Bullet resistant glass? High counter with staff on a platform? Maye a couple large guys in lobby?
After first week you should know if you NEED to carry. That kind of place I likely would.

 

[BoomStick82]

I have been there, the only security is one camera over the front area, no buzzing in, no glass, nothing really secure between customers and us, all we have is a panic button somewhere (I haven't even been told yet). And this is standard for all the locations I have seen (not just the one where I work).

 

[Zundfolge]

So what kind of job is this? It sounds like its just a rung above a clerk at a convenience store, so I'm not sure that its the kind of thing where if you got fired for CCWing that you'd do major damage to a specialized career (although I don't know enough about that line of work to know if thats true).

Are you more worried about getting fired or legal trouble? It doesn't sound to me like you would be facing any legal trouble.


Ifn it was me I'd carry ... screw their stupid little rules ... those kind of places get robbed all the time, and if you do get robbed you're probably not going to feel like keeping the job afterward anyway. You can always find another job ... but you have to be alive for the interviews.


Its been said often here but concealed means concealed.

 

[357wheelgunner]

Get another job if you are concerned that you could be attacked at work, especially if you need to be sneaky just to feel safe.

 

[gunsmith]

I would carry if I were you

the guys who deliver your cash are armed, I know because that was my last job.
It's difficult to get behind the glass , you probaby have that two door system.
It can be done, they hold a gun to some kids head and say open & you probably will.
Most jobs like that if you get robbed and defend yourself , you get fired but thats about it.
there has been dozens reported here..mostley pizza delivery and 7/11's and the worse that happens is you get fired ...but you get a better paying job somewhere else because of your hero status.
It's probably more about insurance then anything else, the insurance company knows it's cheaper to pay a death payout then a disabillity for 50 year payout ...so they hope the bad guys kill you...it's cheaper then you wounding the bad guy or customers and the insurance pays 500,000 rather for a disabled person then 20,000 for a dead one.
so carry, it's extremely difficult to spend money when your dead.
but remember , concealed is concealed!! don't talk about it with your co workers.

 

[veloce851]

I'll second the screw the rules crowd.
The last time I worked for someone else they had a corporate policy against firearms on person as well as in your car.
I carried every day I worked there. They even had a rule that said they could search your bag/locker if they wanted to (most likely for theft)
I had the opinion that I'd rather have it if I needed it. And if they decided to search my bag and found it.. I'd take the chance I'd get fired.
A job is just a job you can always find another one. You can't get another life if your put in a position where you could loose it.
3 years later when I quit due to excessive PC crap. Noone ever knew I carried... well except for the other gunnies I worked with Some of them carried too.

As the saying goes.. better to be judged by 12, than carried by 6.

 

[gunsmith]

oh my

have been there, the only security is one camera over the front area, no buzzing in, no glass, nothing really secure between customers and us, all we have is a panic button somewhere

I didn't see that post! you would be crazy to not carry in that situation.
they are risking your life by their lack of security.

 

[taliv]

if this place is like all the other "payday advance" type places where their business is screwing the poor, you should find another job.

i'm not saying you should deprive your kids or not put food on the table, but there are plenty of vocations you can be proud of. that's not one of them.

 

[HerrWolfe]

Perhaps I have lost the idea of concealed carry. What happens if someone walks in holding a gun? What happens if someone standing or sitting in front of you pulls a gun? Would you pull your gun to save the money? Hope not. Think your best bet would be to smile real big and do exactly what you were told to do. With different suroundings reactions could be different. You perhaps could look at the rule book on concealed carry, since your new job seems to draw bad people just like house trailers draw tornados. Make sure you are licensed to kill and not to just turn tail and try to run like some states seem to require.

 

[George S.]

I don't think I would risk my life by being in a position where there is a possibility of some BGF coming in to rob a place and I was prohibited by company regulations from being armed. From your description, it's obvious there has been little or no thought given to security of the employees or the money the place needs to conduct business.

This sounds like a job for somebody who doesn't care about what can happen. IMHO, you should keep looking for employment that is 1) a safe place to work, and 2) an employer who may not be as restrictive when it comes to your wanting to be able to protect yourself.

 

[BoomStick82]

I don't give a flying <explitive> about the money... I'm more worried about someone who isn't "satisfied" with the amount of cash we can give him when they decided to rob the place. I don't feel unsafe at the job, I am just a paranoid person who would rather be fired and/or judge by twelve, than carried by six (or have one of my co-workers killed). I have been told that there is very little to worry about in terms of getting held up, which is why the security is so lax (in all honesty, I think it is more to monitor the employees handling the cash than to catch people who are trying to steal the money... but again, I have to check things out more).

Yes, I don't find this a "respectable" job (and I'm not proud of it), or type of job, but I have been out of work for a while (I had to leave my last job in september due to graduating college), and I'm just about out of my "emergency unemployment" fund, and I tried getting other jobs (it's amazing who WON'T hire you if you have a college degree... but I digress). I am not stopping my job search, but I have been told that having a job makes it a lot easier to get a job, and again, I need to establish some positive income here because I do need the money for the basics (rent, food, etc) as well as having some fun.

I don't have a CCW, nor do I have an appropriate piece (besides a folding fighting knife, which WILL be on me after I'm done training) yet, but getting this job has provided me with a good reason to persue it.

Thanks for all the advice so far. I really do appreciate it.

 

[taliv]

good luck then and don't give up.



as an aside, it occurs to me that the THR (or at least APS) should have a jobs posted/wanted forum for gun-minded people. not necessarily gun-related jobs, just good people hooking other good people up. i can't imagine it would be terribly active, but it would be nice nevertheless.

 

[f4t9r]

Well I would take it easy the first week. And not carry. Find out what goes on and then decide. Do they have decent security there? Buzz people in, only two people at a time? Bullet resistant glass? High counter with staff on a platform? Maye a couple large guys in lobby?
After first week you should know if you NEED to carry. That kind of place I likely would.

I would add talk to the person or boss that hired you and see what they say.
if you are not comfortable with the answer , look elsewhere for a job

 

[mountainclmbr]

Just a guess, but here it goes.....


I bet that your employeer would not agree to have an explosive attached to them that would go off if you have a dead-man switch that goes off if you are killed at work because you are unarmed.

I would rather be fired than dead. Just call me crazy for thinking like that.

 

[MNgoldenbear]

I echo the sentiments of most replies -- I hope that you are able to get a different job. We are not allowed to carry at work (area prohibited by law), but it's a pretty safe place. If you can't find another place to work, it does sound like carrying might be sensible. Not sure about laws there, and I don't really advocate anything illegal, but there is truth in the saying about it being 'better to be tried by twelve than carried by six.' As another responder said, don't draw to protect the money, but it has become more common for criminals to injure/kill even when their victims cooperate. Hope you are practicing all of your skills if you do CCW -- not just drawing and firing, but observing, thinking, anticipating, negotiating, distracting, etc. -- the whole alertness/defense package. Carrying a firearm does NOT make you bullet-proof! Good luck to you. Stay safe.

 

[UWstudent]

+ 1 carry

 

[BoomStick82]

Even though I don't carry (yet) I am always paying attention to my surroundings, with all of my senses. Working at a school gym really helped hone my looking/listening and flitering out the important stuff skills. I am definitely going to find another job if I can, and end up carrying if I can't. I really don't think my boss would be to keen on the idea of me carrying, but I will talk to her about setting up the camera differently, or adding another camera to watch the door.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Jobs are considerably easier to replace than lives.

 

[Lupinus]

so long as the worst they can do is fire you, I'd say do it. But I'd also check state and local laws, you have been notified no weapons on the property so I would make sure bringing one doesn't violate a law. If it does and they find out they could be pricks and have you prosecuted for whatever they can. If thats the case I'd say find a new job, but if not and worse they can do is fire you I'd carry.

 

[Kramer Krazy]

I'm not allowed to have firearms on the property of my employer. My wife knows that if anything happens to me while at work, or to-and-from, that could have been prevented with my CCW, she's to sue the ever-loving crap out of the company if I'm not around to do it. There is a strong possibility that she wouldn't have to worry about that, though.

 

[George S.]

One big problem with taking this job and then carrying a weapon (and let's assume it would be a handgun rather than a knife) is that if you were found to be carrying, it would probably mean getting fired on the spot.

That in itself creates another problem. When you apply for the next job, your potential employer will probably ask for an employment history. You may be asked why you left your last job, either on an application form or in an interview. So what would your reply be?

To be honest, you would have to say you were fired for carrying a weapon which was directly against that company's policy. So do you lie and say you didn't like the job or simply wanted a better job? What if the potential employer calls your former employer and asks for a recommendation? They may find out that you lied, and if they don't like guns either, the chances are that you won't get the new job.

None of this may happen, but it is something that you should consider.

As to carrying a concealed weapon, don't even think about it until you have been issued a CCW. If you would ever get caught by an LEO, the chances of getting a CCW much less legally being able to buy a weapon could go out the window.

I have been told that there is very little to worry about in terms of getting held up, which is why the security is so lax

If the company told you this, I would raise a really big BS flag here. The papers seem to always have stories about armed robberies at convienience stores, gas stations, and drive-thru espresso stands, all of which have little or no "security measures" other than cameras (even if that). She may be trying to put your mind at ease about not getting held up but the fact remains, places with little security are usually targeted by robbers before others.

Look at banks; nobody at a bank is armed (other than some places that have armed security guards) and banks typically have policies against employees carrying weapons. In any event, a robber with a gun will come in with it at the ready. Once he points it at you, you are going to be at a disadvantage until the situation changes so you could draw a weapon and defend yourself.

Like a bank, check cashing places has cash on hand to do business. That makes them a potential target by robbers.

Tough decisons to make but plese keep the future in mind.

 

[pax]

You asked a valid question, whether the statement in the employee handbook is legally binding. I'd think you'd need to talk to a lawyer about that -- as an employee, you might have been "legally notified" even though they don't have signs up for the general public. It all depends upon what your state law says, and how that law has been interpreted by the courts.

Unless I were in dire straits, btw, I'd probably pass on a job where I felt I had to carry in order to be safe. I carry everywhere it's legal, but also I really try to avoid places of heightened risk.

After all, carrying a gun doesn't make you bulletproof. It just lets you shoot back and maybe save your life if things go to hell.

pax

 

[Sistema1927]

I can't think of any place in this country that would make me feel less safe than working at one of those Payday Advance Loan businesses.

A big part of personal security is to make sure that you don't place yourself in a vulnerable position. Just how much are they paying you? I bet it isn't enough.

 

[HankB]

Unless I were in dire straits, btw, I'd probably pass on a job where I felt I had to carry in order to be safe.

+1 on that. (Do seedy places like this actually pay that much more than Mickey D's to be a worthwhile option? Couldn't you clerk at a regular bank or something instead?)