From Deseret News archives:

Justices uphold guns ruling

Fired workers who violated the ban had sued AOL

Published: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 2:57 p.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
The Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday asserted that employees do not have the right to bring guns onto company property if there is a policy prohibiting weapons.

The high court's ruling underscored the strength of Utah's long-standing, at-will employment law — which means workers can be fired or quit at any time.

The decision was prompted by a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by three America Online employees, Luke Hansen, Paul Carlson and Jason Melling, who were sacked in 2000 after they transferred guns among their cars in the company's leased parking lot at its Ogden call center.

AOL had a policy, which the employees knew about, that prohibited firearms in the company building and parking lot.

The lawsuit spawned numerous debates about such issues as private property rights vs. the constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, and what rights employers and workers have under Utah law.

"There remains an evolving discussion about the role of firearms in our society. While certain areas of that debate are more developed than others, the mature at-will employment law in the state of Utah rejects the idea that, in the face of a freely entered-into agreement to the contrary, an employee has the right to carry a firearm on his employer's premises," the court wrote.

Story continues below
The three AOL employees were off work and planned to go target shooting at a local firing range. A company security camera recorded them moving guns from two of the cars to the third man's car, which also had a gun inside. Four days later, the men were fired.

Although these were at-will employees, AOL said the men were fired because they had violated its "Workplace Violence Prevention Policy."

The men filed suit, arguing AOL's actions constituted wrongful termination because possessing guns was protected by public policy, namely the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

They also argued the at-will employment rule has an exception that permits individuals to sue for wrongful termination in certain instances, such as a worker who gets fired after refusing a request from a boss to do something illegal.

A trial court decided in favor of AOL, and the men appealed the decision.

The unanimous Supreme Court ruling, written by Justice Ronald Nehring, noted that the Utah Legislature heatedly debated such issues in 2004 in its discussion over a chapter in the "uniform firearms laws" that eliminated a policy favored by the University of Utah, which had banned weapons on campus.

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

previousnext

Latest comments

While I do not agree with Bob Bennett on everything, I do agree that the way...

Zone D giving Jazz headaches

"hee hee hee hee" Maybe it is coaching? nooooooo.....

Letters: Case of sour grapes

Right there with you guy.

There were no FLDS people on the jury. I'm sure the prosecution made...

Letters: Endless black hole

You go guy. So true.

Vatican looks to heavens for aliens

once mankind makes contact with intelligent life on another world its going...

Dont blame the refinery for the city allowing the building too close to it.

While on the one hand there is freedom of association for which I feel...

As an active LDS member with gay friends and relatives, this is a great step...

Letters: Will wrong on warming

The planet heats up, it escapes into space. Who woulda' thunk. Get over...

Advertisements
Advertisement