Guns at work

A new workplace safety issue has arisen in America, based on a proposed Florida law that permits employees to keep loaded guns in their cars at work.

Florida’s law will be considered at the next legislative session, which begins in March. The law would prohibit employers from banning guns in cars at work. It is based on the Constitutional right to bear arms and the belief that having guns at work will prevent robberies, a leading cause of workplace violence, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

But employers and other opponents of the law believe the prevalence of firearms on workplace premises would heighten tension. “How can employees continue to do their jobs in that environment?” said Al Frazier, vice president of corporate services at the Orlando Utilities Commission.

The human resources issues associated with the law are phenomenal: employers may have to step up security and install metal detectors to insure that guns aren’t brought into the workplace; conduct extensive background checks on new employees; implement training sessions to educate managers on the characteristics of people with a propensity for violence; and, enhance employee assistance programs to deal with potentially violent employees.

“We are simply trying to provide a safe and secure working environment for our employees and the communities in which we operate by keeping guns out of our work sites,” a Conoco spokesman said, after a similar law was passed in Oklahoma. The National Rifle Association responded to the comments by urging a boycott of Conoco and accusing it of violating its employees’ constitutional rights.