Panel Discusses Indiana’s New Workplace Gun Law

   Print

Like many employers in Indiana, the last few months have caused John Ganyard a lot of worry.

A new Indiana gun law set to take effect July 1, will allow workers to keep firearms locked and stored away in their vehicles while at work.

Ganyard, human resources manager of Keystone RV Co. in Elkhart, was among the sea of worried faces at the Matterhorn Conference Center Tuesday morning (May 25), according to the South Bend Tribune.

The Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce hosted a panel to discuss how companies would enforce the new law.

The panel discussed everything from doing extensive background checks on job applicants to the types of firearms permitted in a vehicle to the responsibility an employer has to inform its workers about the new law.

Ganyard said the presentation clarified some of the information in the statute, but he still has some concern.

This is a nightmare just waiting to happen, he said.

“In the rare cases where there are heated moments after an employee is let go, this minimizes the cooling off period,” Ganyard said. “How are we supposed to counteract?”

Ganyard is worried that the law will make it easier for disgruntled employees to react to bad news in a dangerous way.

Michiana has had two incidents in the last 10 years where employees were injured or killed by gunfire in a work place.

Employee Robert Wissman killed himself after fatally shooting general manager Greg Oswald and injuring six others at Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork in Goshen in 2001.

Nearly four months later, the Bertrand Products plant in South Bend had a similar situation when longtime employee William Lockey shot and killed four of his co-workers and wounded two others before killing himself.

Capt. Sean Holmes of the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department, assured employers that they should never risk the safety of their workplace.

Recognizing a situation where you think you might need law enforcement is crucial, he said.

“If you’re in fear of your safety, call us,” Holmes said to the crowd.

One man asked the panel if businesses can inquire whether employees intend to bring firearms or not.

Jeff Schwingendorf, an attorney at NIBCO Inc. in Elkhart, said doing so may have a chilling effect on employees.

“The question you have to ask yourself is what type of (workplace) culture are you creating by asking future action (of employees)?” Schwingendorf said.

The panel suggested that companies ask employees being hired for copies of legal gun permits.

Schwingendorf acknowledged an employer has no way of knowing whether a gun is legally licensed unless the employee provides a permit.

“Discipline those who carry weapons into the work place,” Schwingendorf said.