Much Ado About Nothing: The Firearm Carry Act of 2021’s De Minimis Effect on Guns in the Workplace

While the law certainly makes it easier for individuals to carry firearms in public, it does not give individuals the right to carry firearms carte blanche. Importantly for employers, the act explicitly states that it does not interfere with an employer’s right to prohibit their employees from carrying a firearm on the employer’s “premises.” Employers likely remember discovering what the law considered their premises to be nearly 10 years ago after Texas lawmakers gave employees with permits the right to store firearms in their locked personal vehicle. An employer’s premises includes “buildings and parts of buildings,” but not parking areas, driveways, or sidewalks. From an employment law perspective, the new act merely extends to unlicensed gun owners, the rights that licensed gun owners already have. Assuming Governor Abbot signs the law, employees must be allowed to keep firearms in their own private, locked vehicles on employer parking lots or in employer parking garages.

Because some employees are likely to be unfamiliar with the act’s restrictions, employers should consider sending a friendly communication to their workforce that provides both a description of the act’s limitations and a reminder of the employer’s firearms policy. Employers might also consider placing notices on employee entrances that firearms are not allowed on the premises, a topic we discussed a couple years ago.