Q. As a private employer, can we prohibit employees from carrying firearms and other weapons on our premises, including those with a valid concealed-carry permit, and are there any legal or privacy concerns with requiring employees who are carrying to disclose this information to management?
A. Questions about whether an employer may prohibit firearms in the workplace often arise after an employee obtains a concealed-carry permit or as employers revisit workplace safety policies. Although many assume federal law governs these issues, the authority of private employers to regulate firearms in the workplace is determined primarily by state law, which varies significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. While federal laws such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) may inform an employer's broader workplace safety and policy obligations, they generally do not dictate whether employees may possess firearms on private property. Instead, employers must look first to the laws of the states in which they operate.
Idaho
Idaho law generally permits private employers to prohibit employees from possessing firearms, with a few considerations. The Idaho Attorney General has expressly recognized that "[p]rivate businesses, including those open to the public, may prohibit the carrying of weapons on their premises." Accordingly, a private employer generally may prohibit employees from carrying firearms or other dangerous weapons inside company buildings and work areas, regardless of whether the employee possesses an Idaho Enhanced Concealed Weapons License or may lawfully carry without a permit.
On the other hand, Idaho law provides incentives for employers that do choose to allow their employees to carry firearms. Idaho Code § 5-341 shields employers from civil liability if a claim arises from a company policy that allows or does not prohibit employees from lawfully carrying a firearm on their person or storing firearms in their personal vehicles while on the business premises.
Idaho law contains no statute prohibiting employers from requiring employees to disclose that they are carrying firearms at work.
Utah
Utah law reaches a similar result to Idaho, but through a different statutory framework. Utah's open and concealed-carry permit statute explicitly states that the statute does not prohibit “the owner or lawful lessee of private real property from prohibiting another individual from possessing a firearm on the property.” The statute further clarifies that “[t]his section does not restrict or expand private property rights.”
The principal limitation on an employer's authority is Utah's Protection of Activities in Private Vehicles Act. Subject to several statutory exceptions, an employer may not establish or enforce a policy prohibiting an employee from transporting or storing a lawfully possessed firearm inside a privately owned motor vehicle parked in an employer-designated parking area if:
· the employee lawfully possesses the firearm;
· the firearm is locked inside the vehicle or in a locked container permanently attached to the vehicle while the vehicle is unattended; and
· the firearm is not in plain view from outside the vehicle.
The statute contains limited exceptions for certain secure facilities, employers providing alternate parking or secure firearm storage, and other specified circumstances. Accordingly, employers should avoid blanket policies stating that firearms are prohibited "anywhere on company property." Instead, the policy should expressly recognize the statutory right to store firearms in locked personal vehicles where required by Utah law.
Lastly, Utah law does not expressly prohibit a private employer from requiring employees who are carrying firearms pursuant to an employer-approved exception to disclose that information to management. Likewise, no Utah statute generally prohibits employers from asking whether an employee is carrying a firearm while at work.
Federal Law
Unlike Utah and Idaho law, there is no federal statute that broadly governs whether a private employer may prohibit employees from carrying firearms in the workplace. The most significant federal consideration is the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
Under the Act's General Duty Clause, employers must furnish each employee with "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."
Although OSHA has not adopted a general workplace violence standard applicable to all private employers, the agency has consistently taken the position that workplace violence may constitute a "recognized hazard" under the General Duty Clause. Where an employer knows, or reasonably should know, of threats, prior violent incidents, or other circumstances creating a foreseeable risk of workplace violence, OSHA expects employers to implement feasible measures to reduce that risk.
Workplace weapons policies are not one-size-fits-all. While Utah and Idaho both generally permit private employers to prohibit firearms and other weapons in the workplace, the scope of that authority differs, most notably with Utah's statutory protections for firearms stored in employee’s locked personal vehicles. Federal law, meanwhile, does not dictate whether employers must allow or prohibit firearms, but instead requires employers to provide a safe workplace. A workplace weapons policy should evolve alongside the law and the workplace itself. Regular review helps ensure the policy remains legally compliant, practical to administer and tailored to the organization's unique safety concerns.
