Skip to main content

Employee Shoots Gun at Work? Second Amendment Does Not Apply


Hoven v. Walgreen Co. - Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals


Facts:  Jeremy Hoven was an at-will employee working at a Walgreen in Michigan.  After concerns over his security at work after a few robberies, Hoven asked Walgreen for additional security.  When Walgreen did not comply with his request, Hoven obtained a license to carry a concealed weapon.  On May 8, 2011, while working, several gun wielding robbers entered Walgreen.  After one of the robbers pointed a gun at Hoven, Hoven drew his concealed weapon and fired shots at the robbers.  Eight days later, after Hoven refused to resign, Walgreen fired him on the grounds that he violated the non-escalation policy of Walgreen. 

Hoven filed suit against Walgreen and claimed he had been unlawfully terminated in violation of Michigan public policy, namely his Second Amendment right to have a firearm.  Walgreen moved for summary judgment on Hoven's claim and the lower court granted the motion.  Hoven subsequently appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Holding:  The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's ruling and held that while the Second Amendment allows citizens to have firearms, employees do not have the same rights in a private setting, such as at work.  

Judgment:  The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's ruling and held that Hoven could not prevail on his unlawful termination claim.

The Takeaway:  Employers need to ensure that even though many employees are well intentioned, allowing firearms at the workplace should not be condoned.  What an employee does on their own time with a concealed weapon license is one thing.  However, when it spills into the workplace and presents a potential powder keg of problems, employers cannot condone or allow this type of environment to exist.

Majority Opinion Judge:  Judge Moore

Date:  June 2, 2014

Opinion:  http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-6th-circuit/1668458.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations
Post a Comment
Read more

NLRB: Former Employee Cannot Be Barred From Work Premises After Filing Wage Suit

MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC - NLRB Facts :  MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC d/b/a Grand Sierra Resort & Casino ("GSR") operated a facility that included a hotel, casino, restaurant, clubs, bars, and a pool which were all open to the general public.  Tiffany Sargent ("Sargent") was briefly employed by GSR as a "beverage supervisor" in December of 2012.  After her employment ended, Sargent continued to socialize at one of the clubs.  GSR had a long standing practice of allowing former employees to patronize its facility and did not prohibit Sargent from doing so.  In June of 2013, Sargent and another employee filed a class and collective action against GSR for alleged unpaid wages, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Nevada law.  In July of 2014, GSR denied Sargent access to an event at one of the clubs.  GSR followed up with a letter and stated that with the on-going litigation (from the wage suit), it decided to bar Sargent from the premises. ...
1 comment
Read more