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<br />Can the city restrict elected officials from carrying firearms while conducting city <br />business? <br /> <br />The law does not specifically address this issue. Therefore, it depends on whether <br />elected officials would be considered "employees" of the city under this particular law. <br />This determination could be different from city to city, depending on a number of factors. <br />For example, some cities have specifically taken actions to designate their elected <br />officials as "employees" in order to offer them certain types of benefits such as workers' <br />compensation coverage, group health and life insurance and coverage in pension and <br />retirement plans. These cities are more likely to be able to make an argument that the <br />elected officials should be treated as employees under this law. <br /> <br />On the other hand, many state and federal employment laws tend to exempt elected <br />officials from coverage. For example, elected officials are not considered employees for <br />purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which governs minimum wage and overtime. <br />They are also specifically exempt from the state law that defines public employees for <br />purposes of collective bargaining rights. <br /> <br />The best practice is for the city to examine how it has treated elected officials in the past <br />on various types of issues and remain consistent with those practices. For example, if the <br />city has designated elected officials as employees for purposes of workers' compensation <br />coverage and other benefits, it should probably designate them as employees for purposes <br />of this law as well. <br /> <br />Can the city restrict volunteers from carrying firearms when performing duties on <br />behalf of the city? <br /> <br />Probably not, but a city is not required to use volunteers who ~arry handguns. <br />A true ''volunteer'' probably cannot be restricted from carrying fIrearms on the basis of <br />being an employee of the city. However, the city may be able to-adopt a policy stating <br />that it will not use volunteers unless they sign an agreement that they will not carry.a <br />firearm while acting on behalf of the city. <br /> <br />In defIning city volunteers, the city should take a 'particularly careful look at its volunteer <br />frrefighters. Many fire departments in the state compensate their volunteer fIrefighters in <br />a manner that would probably be seen by the Department of Labor as making them <br />ineligible for volunteer status under wage and hour laws. The city should attempt to be <br />consistent in its defInition of volunteer firefighters either as true volunteers or as "paid on <br />call" city employees. <br /> <br />If the city determines that its volunteer fIrefighters are actually employees, they can be <br />included in the city's general policy prohibiting employees from carrying fIrearms while <br />on duty. If they are true volunteers, the city may be able to require them to sign an <br />agreement that they will not carry a fIrearm while acting on behalf of the city. Included <br />with this information is a link to a Fact Sheet that describes factors to look at in <br />