Some background checking and employment news is a lot more interesting than others. The Post-Tribune, which supports the greater Chicago area, reported that the Portage, Indiana Police Chief believed that new rulings allowing employees to carry weapons to the workplace, provided they keep them in their car, will not lead to more violence on the job.
In short, the police believes that anyone wanting to harm another employee would do so whether the gun was more accessible or not. The fact that the gun was close by would not serve to increase the violence in the workplace. Portage is in the jurisdiction where one disgruntled employee for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development shot up the building after he received a bad review. I suppose some take those negative reviews more seriously than others.
The general belief of the advocates of the new ruling is that is support the Second Amendment rights and as such the legislature was correct in passing the law. There may be some matters to clean up later on, according to some, but overall it is a solid bill. That said, there were exceptions made. The bill exempts some public utilities and chemical plants and agencies whose drivers transport developmentally disabled people. The bill also exempts schools, child care centers, domestic violence shelters and group homes. If you are employed at any of the above mentioned facilities, you must leave your guns at home.
Opponents to the bill, believe it will lead to more workplace violence. Some claim it infringes on business owners’ property rights and exposes them to liability. In all, it is an interesting law.
Here is my take. There should be considerations when running background checks whether someone has a past history of violence, showing up either in criminal or civil courts. But then as the law is posted, there would be no such discrimination for those with a greater propensity to resort to violence. So unless you ran a background check and found the kind of past history that caused you to reject a job applicant, you are saddled with your new employee’s right to bring a gun to the job.
They must keep it in the car at the job. I know. But this is a world where more than a few of our people are in no hurry to exert themselves. It may be said that there is a pervasive couch potato mentality where if it’s too far away or you can’t get there on a motor scooter, you may decided to stay where you are. So with this crowd and many others, the fact that they have easy access to a weapon may cause them to act upon it in the heat of anger. The time allotted for cooling down is greatly reduced when all an angry employee has to do is stalk out to the car. Now, in fairness to the Portage Police Chief, those who really bear a grudge will go the extra mile and if they wish to do harm may well return with a weapon–law or n law.
As with many laws, there are conflicting opinions and a complexity of rights issues. I would like to say I know the answer other than what seems like common sense. But I don’t. We may find that the Police Chief is quite correct in his assessment and workplace violence doesn’t increase one iota. Let’s face it, most people are either sane enough or have enough self-control that they do not believe shooting up their fellow workers is the best means of settling grievances. They will file a complaint, argue maybe, but more than likely most are not about to snap out and start shooting.
I will watch this situation with interest. As will many others, I’m sure. Check them out before you hire.