Can firm bar guns if left in vehicle?

An employer has the right to tell workers not to bring guns to work, but the Utah Supreme Court must now decide whether that includes parking at work and leaving a gun in your car.

The high court heard arguments Monday in a case questioning whether America Online was out of line when it fired three employees for possessing guns in a parking lot at the company's Ogden call center.

Attorneys for the fired employees said workers having guns in the parking lot is a "contrived burden" on the employer. They suggested that any number of people in the courtroom Monday morning may have had guns in their cars as arguments were heard and that it was creating no interference with courtroom procedures. The same would be true of guns in AOL's parking lot, they said.

But AOL's attorneys told the justices the employees violated their contractual agreement that they would not bring guns to work. They said signs posted at the door told employees guns were off limits, including in the parking lot.

They said the constitutional right to bear arms is no more infringed by the prohibition than the right to free speech is when employers disallow certain kinds of expression at work.

But the employees' attorneys said the right to bear arms is a fundamental right. Justices responded by asking the attorneys whether it was more fundamental and important a right than the right to free speech.

AOL fired Luke Hansen, Paul Carlson and Jason Melling on Sept. 14, 2000, when they transferred two pistols and two rifles among their vehicles in AOL's leased parking lot. The men were preparing for target practice at a private shooting range after work. The three sued for wrongful termination.

Several business organizations have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the case, including the Society for Human Resource Management, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Ogden and Weber Chamber of Commerce, the Employers Council, the Utah Hospitals and Health Systems Association, the Utah Restaurant Association and the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah.

Mike O'Brien, the attorney who represents the Society for Human Resource Management, said the society's involvement indicates a position in favor of employers' rights, not a pro- or anti-gun sentiment.

"It reflects a pragmatic recognition that each individual employer is in the best position to analyze its own business needs, safety and security requirements, property needs, employee morale issues, company culture, collective needs and other factors that must be considered when deciding whether or not to ban or allow guns on the employer's premises," he said.

The court has taken the case under advisement and will release an opinion at an undetermined later date.

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E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com