Company Weapons Policies

[txgolfer45]

I was looking through the employee handbook of a prospective employer. They specifically do not allow weapons on their premises and their client's premises. They go on to state that they recognize that even though state laws may authorize citizens to carry concealed weapons, that is still against policy and subject to immediate termination.

So, they want the employees to be defenseless even if they are licensed to carry. I hate it!!! :banghead:

Even worse, they don't even define a weapon, they just say weapons of any kind. Hmmmm........ I probably don't have a leg to stand on saying my concealed handgun is a tool for self-defense and not a weapon.

Scott

 

[Standing Wolf]

Jobs are easier to replace than lives.

 

[txgolfer45]

Standing Wolf,

You have that right! It's just frustrating that the companies don't recognize a state issued license to carry a concealed handgun.

Scott

 

[Zundfolge]

I belive that the first CCW holder who is robbed or otherwise accosted on company property, between work and home, or between work and a client should sue the company for endangering their lives.


This has come up in the past, and I don't know if anyone has ever sued and legal precedent been set here, or if it has just been discussed as a legal hypothetical.

 

[Pendragon]

Its all about liability.

They percieve that CCWs on site are much more likely to create a problem than solve a problem. If they do not have a policy banning weapons, and something happens, they see that they may be held liable.

Yet, if someone twists off and you are unarmed to stop them, then all they are out is the cleaning and the cost of a new want ad.

This is a large reason why I am considering going into business for my self. I can CCW and who is to say boo about it?

What I wonder is - if I am contracting out my IT skills, will clients try and ask me if I CCW or will they just not think to bring it up?

Can any self employed people speak to this?

 

[defense2]

I currently work for a company that shall remain nameless, and their policy is very much the same.

Below is text taken from this company's "Violence in the Workplace Policy."

"Team members and visitors are prohibited from bringing firearms, concealed or unconcealed, onto Company premises or in a Company vehicle."

This is a well-known national company with many, many stores nationwide. None of them, to my knowledge, post any visible signage stating that the location is an Unarmed Victim Zone. Why have a policy of denying customers the right to carry and not tell them they can't carry? I don't quite understand the logic behind it. :banghead:

I live in Vermont and thankfully work with people who respect and agree with my choice to carry a weapon. If I stop in on a day off to pick something up or grab my check, I don't disarm and no one cares. Yet I could techincally be terminated for it, and that frustrates me.

Also, elsewhere in the employee manual the ban on team members carrying weapons is widened to include "dangerous weapons" or any kind. When we check in shipments we use box cutters quite a bit, and box cutters were used on 9/11 by hijackers...so does that mean we should be getting rid of ours? Maybe we should ditch our tape dispensers, too...they have sharp edges. And staplers...well those can even propel a staple six inches of more!

Maybe someday more people will realize that trained citizens make things safer, not more dangerous.

(Oh...I should also mention that the only people allowed to carry on company grounds are *on-duty* police officers, approved company security, and armored car personnel. You're an off-duty police officer? "Sorry, sir. You'll have to leave. Firearms aren't allowed here." Right...)

 

[Meowhead]

Sometime in the past millenium, I worked for a while for the US Postal Service. This was just a few months after some postal worker went..uh..postal, and the building was decorated with brand new shiny NO WEAPONS PERMITTED signs. Gee, those pieces of metal and plastic sure made me feel safe.

They amused me to no end. Can't you just picture some unkempt fellow with a rifle and a desperate stare stomping to work with murder on his mind, reading the sign and turning away dejected, cursing under his breath? So much for a murderous rampage; if only the manager allowed me to bring a gun, I'd show them all!

 

[Yanus]

Pendragon,
I'm an IT consultant and I carry in my vehicle while on the job site. It's strictly "don't ask, don't tell". I refuse to totally unarmed. If the client found out, my contract would most likely be terminated. However, I refuse
to be a victim and will continue to act accordingly.

Hope this helps your situation...........

Yanus

 

[rock jock]

Yanus nailed it. Personally, I could probably carry everyday. No one would know in my small office, and if they did, would almost certainly not care since they are all shooters/hunters. However, I choose not to CCW at work as I don't feel the need.

 

[spacemanspiff]

my company policy is the same: i'm not supposed to be armed.
a few years back we had an employee who was open about her having a weapon on hand, and said she left it in her car. she was a petite little thing but was fearless. so the big boss said nothing. probably helped that her husband was enlisted and is the biggest scariest looking muscle-bound freak i've ever come across.

but the mentality that decided our workplace should be disarmed is really linked to the fact that the big boss is an irritating thorn in everyones side. he demands far more than job descriptions allow for, he screws up everything he touches, he treats most employees like crap, he blames everyone else for his mistakes. he hates to be told 'no'. he will stomp off like a little child angry that he didnt get his way.
his irrational fear is that one of us will go off on him. my supervisor has done it a couple of times already. it was well deserved however.

if the subject of my carrying ever comes up, and i am asked to stop carrying, i will give my verbal resignation and go clean out my desk. it would hurt the company more for me to quit, considering much of what i do, i am the only one who knows how to do it. my quitting could effectively shut down most of the operations. and in our industry (insurance) there is a shortage of trained professionals. my position would remain unfilled until someone was trained in what i do.

 

[Big_R]

Kind of strange, but one of the buildings I support had "firearms, knives, and all other weapons prohibited" on the doors going into the plant. After MN passe the concealed carry law, it was taken off the doors. Now, nothing is written on them. Company policy forbids weapons, but I found it strange that the lettering was removed from the doors entirely.

Ryan