LEGAL UPDATE
Court Shoots Down State Law Prohibiting Workplace Gun Policies
On March 31, 2004, Oklahoma Governor C. Brad Henry signed into law H.B. 2122, prohibiting any "person, property owner, tenant, employer or business from establishing any policy or rule that has the effect of prohibiting any person, except a convicted felon, from transporting and storing firearms in a locked vehicle on any property set aside for any vehicle." After a suit was filed challenging the constitutionality of the law, a temporary restraining order delayed the law's effective date.
After years of legal wrangling on both sides of the issue, on October 4 of this year, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma ruled that the law ran afoul of the Occupational Safety and Health Act's (OSH Act) "general duty" clause, which requires an employer to "furnish each of his employees 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."
The District Court judge entered an order against the defendants, Oklahoma's governor and attorney general, enjoining them from enforcing the law against any of the plaintiffs or any other entity that is defined as an "employer" under the OSH Act.
In addition to providing relief to Oklahoma employers faced with having to chose between violating state or federal law, the ruling gives employers in states with similar laws a powerful weapon when it comes to challenging those laws. There are four states (Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota and Alaska) that currently have similar legislation on the books, with other states considering the possibility of similar laws of their own.
An appeal to the 10th U.S. Circuit court of Appeals is expected in the Oklahoma case.
(Source: http://www.shrm.org)
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