A federal appeals court recently upheld a labor arbitrator’s decision concluding that, in light of the state’s concealed carry law, an employer had improperly fired an employee for violating the company’s weapons policy.
The case, Ameren Illinois Co. v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers[1], concerned the scope of an arbitrator’s authority to interpret a collective bargaining agreement by reference to state law on firearms and private property.
Brian Knox, the employee in the case, and his supervisor had a series of “heated arguments” over scheduling one day. Other employees later told the supervisor that Knox owned firearms and was known to carry concealed weapons (Knox had a concealed carry license). The employer, Ameren, had a “Workplace Violence Policy” that prohibited “threatening, intimidating and aggressive” statements or conduct and “unauthorized weapons” on company property, “including in vehicles located on Company parking lots.” A company representative (accompanied by a deputy sheriff) subsequently asked Knox to consent to a search. Knox agreed, and a firearm was found stored in his truck parked in the company lot. Three weeks later, Knox – who had been with Ameren upwards of 15 years – was fired. The termination letter cited violations of the policy based on his allegedly “threatening or intimidating” conduct during the arguments and his “unauthorized” gun on company property.
The union representing Knox filed a grievance, claiming the collective bargaining agreement between the union and Ameren allowed termination of a bargaining unit employee for just cause only. It was undisputed that the penalty for violations of the workplace violence policy included discipline up to and including termination, but the policy had been unilaterally imposed by the employer. It was not part of the agreement, and nothing in the collective bargaining agreement prohibited leaving
