Labor Alert - Missouri Concealed Carry Law

Labor Alert

Missouri Concealed Carry Law

The Concealed Carry Law expressly prohibits members of the public from carrying a concealed firearm on any private property whose owner posts a properly constructed sign prohibiting concealed firearms from being brought onto the premises. To lawfully prohibit a member of the public from carrying a concealed firearm, the property owner must post at least one sign of a minimum size of eleven by fourteen inches with lettering at least one inch tall in a conspicuous place. Although the Concealed Carry Law does not dictate the necessary wording of the notice, a posting that states, “No Firearms Allowed” should be sufficient.

If a place of business is not “open to the public,” an employer may prohibit its “permitted” employees from carrying a concealed firearm inside the place of business without posting a sign. However, if a place of business is “open to the public,” an employer may not prohibit its permitted employees from carrying a concealed firearm without posting the sign described previously. Unfortunately, the Concealed Carry Law does not define the term “open to the public.” However, for purposes of compliance with the Concealed Carry Law, “open to the public” may be construed as a reference to any place of business that has an entrance through which it admits individuals other than its employees, including customers, repairpersons and vendor representatives. As a practical matter, virtually all businesses may be construed as “open to the public,” and employers may need to post notices in order to lawfully prohibit employees from bringing concealed firearms to work or onto the business premises of any customer while working for the employer.

In addition to posting a notice, employers should also adopt policies prohibiting employees from carrying concealed firearms at work. Although the statute does not directly address this matter, we believe that an employer may take disciplinary action against an employee who brings a firearm into the employer’s building after the employer has posted a proper notice and has established a policy prohibiting employees from carrying firearms. Employers whose employees are represented by unions may have to bargain with those unions with respect to any policies pertaining to concealed firearms before applying the new policy to bargaining unit employees. In the event of a tortious or criminal act by an employee with a concealed weapon, the employer’s failure to adopt and enforce a policy prohibiting employees from carrying firearms at work may encourage injured persons to raise arguments of negligent supervision against the employer.

The Concealed Carry Law does not allow a property owner (or an employer) to prohibit members of the public or employees from keeping firearms in their private vehicles parked on owner or employer property as long as the firearm is neither removed from the vehicle or brandished in the vehicle. Employers may, however, lawfully prohibit permitted employees from carrying concealed firearms in vehicles owned by the employer.

If a member of the public with a permit carries a concealed weapon into a private building upon which a valid sign prohibiting concealed firearms has been posted, the owner of the property may insist that the individual leave the premises and may, if the individual does not leave, summon a police officer who should remove the individual and may issue a citation in an amount not to exceed $100.00.

The Concealed Carry Law is an untested statute, the interpretation of which is subject to change. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding the Concealed Carry Law, the contents or format of signs prohibiting firearms, or the adoption or enforcement of an employment policy prohibiting employees from carrying firearms.

This Labor Alert was prepared by Bradley G. Kafka, Stephen W. Skrainka, and Jon A. Bierman of the Labor and Employment Law Department of Gallop, Johnson & Neuman Mr. Kafka is Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Department; Mr. Skrainka and Mr. Bierman are members of the Department. If you wish to obtain further information regarding these matters, please contact either the Gallop, Johnson & Neuman attorney who normally provides or manages your legal services or an attorney of the Firm’s Labor and Employment Law Department. Attorneys include:

Bradley G. Kafka, Dept. Chair

Stephen W. Skrainka
Mark W. Weisman