What You Need to Know About Guns at Work Laws by State
States often have difficulty balancing an employer’s responsibility to create a safe work environment with an employee’s right to bear arms. Consequently, some states have passed laws to address employees who desire to bring a gun to work. Here’s everything you need to know about guns at work laws by state.
Guns in the Workplace and Parking Lot Laws
An employer’s responsibility to create a safe work environment often allows an employer to prohibit the presence of weapons in the workplace. However, some states have passed guns at work laws, also known as parking lot laws or guns-in-trunk laws.
Guns at work laws can:
- Limit an employer from restricting an employee’s right to carry concealed weapons in the workplace,
- Prevent an employer from forbidding employees to store firearms in private vehicles when parked in the employer’s parking lot,
- Require an employer to post notice signaling the employer prohibits guns in the workplace, and
- Provide the employer immunity from injuries related to firearms stored in parking lots.
A state with no guns at work laws likely allows employers to bar employees from carrying a concealed weapon in the workplace or storing firearms in a private car while in the employer’s parking lot. State and federal privacy laws may apply, enabling or preventing employers from searching an employee’s office, car, or relevant site within workplace property, depending on the state. The following chart more directly addresses firearm storage in parking lots.
Related: 7 Signs You’re Being Sexually Harassed at Work
Guns at Work Laws by State Chart
| State | Regulated Group | Protected Group | Degree of Firearm Storage Visibility | Degree in Firearm Storage Security | Employer Immunity from Injuries Related to Firearm Parking Lot Storage |
| Alabama | Employers | Employees | The employee must store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Alaska | Everyone | Everyone | The employee does not have to store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Arizona | Property owners, tenants, employers, and business entities | Everyone | The employee must store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Arkansas | Employers | Employees | The employee must store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers do not possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| California | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Colorado | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Connecticut | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Delaware | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| District of Columbia (D.C.) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Florida | Employers | Customers, employees, and invitees | The employee does not have to store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Georgia | Employers | Employees and invitees | The employee must store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Hawaii | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Idaho | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Illinois | Everyone | Everyone | The employee must store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers do not possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Indiana | Everyone | Employees | The employee must store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Iowa | Employee Privacy Act recently proposed | Employee Privacy Act recently proposed | Employee Privacy Act recently proposed | Employee Privacy Act recently proposed | Employee Privacy Act recently proposed |
| Kansas | Employers | Employees | The employee does not have to store the firearm out of sight | The firearm does not have to remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers do not possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Kentucky | Everyone | Everyone | The employee does not have to store the firearm out of sight | The firearm does not have to remain in the locked vehicle of the locked compartment | Employers do not possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Louisiana | Property owners, tenants, employers, and business entities | Everyone | An employer can require employees to store a firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Maine | Employers | Employees | The employee must store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Maryland | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Massachusetts | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Michigan | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Minnesota | Private establishment owners and operators, employers, and colleges | Everyone | The employee does not have to store the firearm out of sight | The firearm does not have to remain in the locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers do not possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Mississippi | Employers | Everyone | The employee does not have to store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Missouri | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Montana | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Nebraska | Everyone | Everyone | The employee does not have to store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers do not possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Nevada | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| New Hampshire | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| New Jersey | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| New Mexico | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| New York | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| North Carolina | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| North Dakota | Employers | Everyone | The employee does not have to store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Ohio | Everyone | Everyone | The employee does not have to store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Oklahoma | Everyone | Everyone | An employee does not have to store a firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Oregon | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Pennsylvania | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Rhode Island | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| South Carolina | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| South Dakota | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Tennessee | Everyone | Everyone | The employee must store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Texas | Employers | Employees | The employee does not have to store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Utah | Everyone | Everyone | The employee must store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Vermont | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Virginia | Localities (county, city, town, etc.) that act as employers | Employees | The employee does not have to store the firearm out of sight | The firearm does not have to remain in the locked vehicle of the locked compartment | Employers do not possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Washington | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| West Virginia | Everyone | Everyone | The employee must store the firearm out of sight | The firearm must remain in a locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Wisconsin | Employers | Employees | The employee does not have to store the firearm out of sight | The firearm does not have to remain in the locked vehicle or locked compartment | Employers possess immunity from injuries related to firearm parking lot storage |
| Wyoming | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
All reported information is accurate as of April 25, 2022. State laws and regulations regarding guns at work laws are subject to change. An employee should consult the state website where the person works to find further information on the gun at work laws in the state of occupation.
Related: Am I Being Sexually Harassed at Work? Take the Quiz
Sources Related to the Table
Parking Lot Laws: Their Content and Applicability
Surging Gun Sales Could Soon Become a Workplace Concern
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