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<br />- <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />3 <br /> <br />In addition, the city may be able to limit weapons on city property where the city has a <br />reasonable basis to suspect an individual constitutes a health or safety risk. For instance if a <br />person has made threats in the past, it may be legitimate for the city to prohibit the individual <br />from possessing a gun on city property. <br /> <br />Finally, cities may want to draw a distinction between access to city property and access to city <br />services and personnel. For instance, it may be acceptable to condition participation in city <br />recreation programs on an agreement to disarm. If a city wants to try to argue this distinction, it <br />should consult with its attorney in order to develop a well-reasoned and legally defensible policy <br />to support such an action. <br /> <br />Can the city prohibit employees from bringing firearms to work with them? If 50, <br />can the city discipline employees for violations? <br /> <br />Yes, the law specifically allows an employer, public or private, to "establish policies that <br />restrict the carry or possession of firearms by its employees while acting in the course and <br />scope of employment." The law also allows the city to discipline employees for violations of the <br />policy. Note also that Minn. Stat. Sec. 626.84, subd. 2, which has been in existence for a number <br />of years, seems to prohibit city employees (other than licensed officers) from carrying guns <br />while on duty. <br /> <br />This means cities can establish a policy that prohibits employees from carrying or possessing <br />firearms while: <br />. Working on city property. <br />. Working in any location on behalf of the city. <br />. Driving on city business. <br />. Rjding as a passenger on city business. <br />. Performing emergency or on-call work after hours on behalf of the city. <br />. Attending training or conferences on behalf ofthe city. <br /> <br />(A link to a sample policy on this issue is included at the end of this memo.) <br /> <br />The law also states that an employer cannot prohibit the lawful carry or possession of firearms in <br />a parking facility or parking area. For many employees, this means that they will leave any <br />firearms in their cars during the workday if the city has a policy prohibiting possession while at <br />work. This could raise issues of security for city parking facilities. <br /> <br />However, it may be difficult to enforce a policy against possessing a firearm at work if the <br />employee routinely uses his or her car for city business. In this case, the city may have to allow <br />an employee to "check" a firearm during the workday and retrieve it after work. The police <br />department is likely to be in the best position to deal with the duty of checking firearms. This <br />duty will require locking the firearms in a secure location and implementing procedures to ensure <br />that only appropriate city staff can retrieve them. If the police department cannot perform this <br />function, it would be a good idea to give the employee checking the firearms some basic training <br />on how to safely handle firearms. <br /> <br />145 University Avenue West 0 St. Paul, MN 55103-2044 0 (651) 281-1200 0 (800) 925-11220 wwwJmnc.org <br />