Illinois' Concealed-carry Law Has Companies Asking Questions
From the Belleville News-Democrat
Illinois' new concealed-carry gun law has business owners asking questions about how it affects their premises and their employees.
There aren't clear-cut answers yet for some of the questions.
For example, can an employer force employees to say whether they have a concealed-carry permit?
"Theoretically, you can," said Brandon Anderson, a labor and employment attorney. "But is that going to raise the ire of the Second Amendment crowd? It's a good question, and I think for the now the response is, you can try to implement that policy, and you'll most likely have it addressed by some court when someone challenges it."
Anderson, an attorney with the Smith Amundsen law firm, is conducting webinars on the topic for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
Anderson said businesses have posed that question to him, along with others which don't have easy answers, such as:
* If an employer has a no-guns-at-work policy, does it cover an employee who goes on a company trip or takes a client to dinner?
"The law doesn't say anything about it, so I think we get into a situation where we're balancing someone's constitutional rights against a business' right to regulate its employees," Anderson said. "It gets really gray when you talk about someone in a personal vehicle, but on company business. I haven't, myself, come to a real conclusion."
* Can an employer prohibit employees from carrying guns in company vehicles?
"There's probably enough basis to say, 'OK, no concealed-carry, no firearms can be kept on company property, including company cars,'" Anderson said.
The Chamber of Commerce had one webinar on the topic Friday. When registration for that one filled up, the group decided to schedule a second webinar for Aug. 2.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Belleville News-Democrat
Illinois' new concealed-carry gun law has business owners asking questions about how it affects their premises and their employees.
There aren't clear-cut answers yet for some of the questions.
For example, can an employer force employees to say whether they have a concealed-carry permit?
"Theoretically, you can," said Brandon Anderson, a labor and employment attorney. "But is that going to raise the ire of the Second Amendment crowd? It's a good question, and I think for the now the response is, you can try to implement that policy, and you'll most likely have it addressed by some court when someone challenges it."
Anderson, an attorney with the Smith Amundsen law firm, is conducting webinars on the topic for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
Anderson said businesses have posed that question to him, along with others which don't have easy answers, such as:
* If an employer has a no-guns-at-work policy, does it cover an employee who goes on a company trip or takes a client to dinner?
"The law doesn't say anything about it, so I think we get into a situation where we're balancing someone's constitutional rights against a business' right to regulate its employees," Anderson said. "It gets really gray when you talk about someone in a personal vehicle, but on company business. I haven't, myself, come to a real conclusion."
* Can an employer prohibit employees from carrying guns in company vehicles?
"There's probably enough basis to say, 'OK, no concealed-carry, no firearms can be kept on company property, including company cars,'" Anderson said.
The Chamber of Commerce had one webinar on the topic Friday. When registration for that one filled up, the group decided to schedule a second webinar for Aug. 2.
Read more in our daily News Update...