Enter the Crossfire: Can and Should Your Company Ban Guns in the Workplace?

Agenda

Two-Step Analysis and Legal Framework

• Understanding the Second Amendment and Supreme Court Precedent
• Understanding That State Law May Dictate Your Decision to Ban or Not Ban Guns, as Different States Restrict/Allow Open Carry or Conceal Carry

Risks, Benefits and Implications of Choosing to Ban or Not Ban Guns in the Workplace

• Risks: What Liability Concerns Exist If the Workplace Does/Does Not Institute a Workplace Firearm Ban?
• Benefits: What Are the Benefits of Banning/Not Banning Guns in the Workplace? Statistical Analysis of Each Decision

You've Made the Choice; What Other Considerations

• Gun Ban Considerations: What Legal and Practical Ramifications Exist for Choosing to Ban or Not Ban Firearms in the Workplace?

Institute Workplace Violence Policy

• Contact Your Local Law Enforcement Liaison to Do a Security Audit
• Physical Security: How Accessible Is Your Building to a Potential Shooter
• Plan of Action: What Procedures Will Your Company Put in Place to Prevent an Incident of Workplace Violence Involving a Firearm?

Credits

Faculty

Holly E. Courtney

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP

Holly Courtney

• Partner at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
• Practice focuses on labor and employment disputes and counsel; as a litigator, mounts forceful and persuasive defenses before federal and state courts and administrative agencies on behalf of employers; as an advisor, helps management develop and maintain compliant employee policies
• Includes issues related to discrimination, including harassment and retaliation; drug and alcohol testing; employee leave; wage and hour law; workers’ compensation; unemployment insurance; the National Labor Relations Act; restrictive covenants; employee handbooks and policies and separation and severance agreements
• Prior to joining the firm, judicial intern to the Hon. David T. Prosser, Jr. with the Wisconsin Supreme court, Hon. Richard J. Sankovitz of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court; also served as a mediator in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court Small Claims Division
• J.D., cum laude, Marquette University Law School; B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 608-283-0121 or [email protected]

Kurt F. Ellison

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP

Kurt Ellison

• Associate at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
• Counsels’ clients on a variety of labor and employment and business-related matters with a concentration in employment litigation and workplace safety. He represents employers in both civil and criminal matters in state and federal trial and appellate courts and before administrative agencies. Kurt advises and defends clients in matters regarding employment, workplace safety (OSHA), wage and hour disputes, labor disputes, construction litigation, insurance, municipal law, and contractual matters When circumstances warrant, Kurt takes cases to trial and wins
• Recent representations include: Co-counsel in a complex seven day jury trial that resulted in a $625,000 verdict for the client, Represented a large employer against federal collective and class action wage and hour suit; achieved denial of certification of both collective and class action claims and subsequent resolution of remaining individual claim for client, Represented municipality and citizens of subdivision against contractors who built a defective roadway; after defeating several motions, obtained significant recovery for municipality through settlement
• Prior to joining Michael Best,he practiced in the areas of employment, business, and insurance litigation at several Wisconsin law firms. While earning his law degree, he interned for the Honorable Diane E. Sykes in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Earlier, he completed a judicial internship with the Honorable William M. Conley of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
• Member, American Bar Association, HR Committee Member, American Players Theatre (APT)
• Marquette University Law School, Juris Doctor (J.D.), magna cum laude, 2013; Articles Editor, Marquette Law Review and Alpha Sigma Nu, the National Jesuit Honor Society, University of Wisconsin, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), 2010; Political Science
• 608-283-0104 or [email protected]