(updated)
This Florida case seems like a golden opportunity for some good old-fashioned right-wing legislation from the bench, which will also be a reminder that even "job creators" are second to gun fanatics in the wingnut pecking order:
Bank manager, fired after carrying gun into work, files suitFlorida is already one of the many states where employers can't prevent you from keeping a gun in your car in the company parking lot, even though the company parking lot is private property, something you might have imagined right-wingers consider sacrosanct.
Ivette Ros grew up in a house where her father kept guns. For her, it was a natural step to get a concealed weapons permit and then to carry a 9 mm handgun.
The 37-year-old Tampa resident is a single mother of three children and said she carries the gun for safety....
Her employer didn't feel the same way. Carrying the gun got her fired, she said.
Ros has filed a lawsuit in circuit court against Wells Fargo Bank, which she said fired her last year from her job as manager at the bank's Oldsmar branch. Her lawsuit says the firing violated her constitutional right to carry arms and asks for monetary damages and attorney fees....
Ros said she sometimes left the handgun in her locked vehicle. Other times, though, she carried it into work concealed under her clothes or in her purse....
... she was fired for violating the bank's ban on employees carrying weapons into the building.
"I am within my constitutional right," Ros said....
Is there the slightest possibility that a Republican-appointed judge at any level of our court system would side with Wells Fargo on this, in the current climate? The gun issue, after all, is the most reliable solidarity-builder and turnout-generator for the GOP, which, I assume, is why the Koch brothers think supporting Stand Your Ground laws is so important a part of their campaign to avoid taxes and regulations. So expect the Gunshine State to enshrine another gun "right" soon, with more undoubtedly to follow.
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UPDATE: At Hot Air, Jazz Shaw, linking to this post, writes:
Of course, one of the best arguments in terms of hoping that Ms. Ros prevails is that it just drives the gun grabbers insane.This is how the gunners think: anything that pisses us off is good. It doesn't matter if it's an absurdly reckless thing to do to society -- if it makes us howl, they're for it.
Thus, Stand Your Ground. Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, and Chad Oulson are dead because most of the right thinks about guns and gun laws the way Shaw does.
If you feel the need to feel armed everywhere you go, may I suggest moving to Somalia or Afghanistan - I hear the former is nice this time of year, and the latter will turn nice in a month or two.
ReplyDeleteHow did I ever manage to live to the grand old age of 56 - which I'll be, in exactly a week - unarmed, and work tending bars and bouncing in clubs in the East Village of NY City, back in the late 70's and early 80's, when every night was Halloween?
Depends on her employment status, but she's probably at-will, with some restrictions as to where she can work next, as she was probably bonded as well.
ReplyDeleteAt-will employees can be fired for any reason at any time. A reason does not even have to be provided.
There may be a matter of unemployment insurance to be settled. Since she broke a regulation to which she agreed, she would ordinarily be denied. It will take a federal decision to override that.
This job is lost, in any event, if she is at-will, as most of us are.
I am so fucking sick of Florida.
ReplyDeleteFrom a legal standpoint, the case has no merit. However, this being Florida...
ReplyDeleteAnd happy birthday, Victor! You feel like an old friend by now. Keep fighting the good fight!( I know you will anyway!)
And just out of curiosity, why are there never more than a handful of comments here? I go to some places where they get 200 comments on a post about a cat. For my money, Steve M. gives as good of analysis as anyone out there, yet little comment is made on it. Why?
(And no, I'm no sock puppet.)
Here's one Conservative who thinks she is 100% wrong. A private workplace has the authority to restrict weapons on their property.
ReplyDeleteJeebus, if Steve employed sock puppets to boost his comments he'd have tons of commenters, obviously. Why stop with just one--what is he, John Lott? I recommend some cat pictures and occasionally falling off a roof. It works for John Cole. Creates a feeling of intimacy for the readers--they know that no comment will be too embarrassing for the blog owner given his propensity for falling down and injuring himself and blogging his diet.
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine the nightmare that would ensue. Go for it Florida.
ReplyDeleteI miss the old days when you didn't have to log into your blog to post comments Steve.
ReplyDeleteFlorida: One of the Meth Labs of Democracy.
ReplyDeleteWhy does the photo claim she was fired for having a concealed carry permit (and a gun)? She was fired for carrying a gun into a bank.
ReplyDeleteI am very much a conservative and believe this employee was correctly terminated. Employers absolutely have the right to ban weapons in the work place. Employers also have the right to restrict speech in the work place, just look to your code of conduct. You agree to the terms by accepting employment. If you were not willing to agree, you should have looked elsewhere or heck, start your own business! I negotiate labor contracts for a living on behalf of the Company. I have had some pretty nasty run ins and some very vile threats made. I too have a concealed carry permit, I am also married to a gunsmith and FFL dealer. What I don't do is carry at work or work functions because it is against our policies. I agreed to those terms, and if I ever should feel differently, I will take my own advice.
ReplyDeletePS- an at will employee can be terminated for any reason, but cannot be termed for the wrong reasons. It isn't quite as easy as just letting an employee go. You must ensure no discrimination, consistent and fair treatment, etc. etc. contrary to Union spin. If this employee was termed, yet a coworker violated the same policy in the same manner yesterday without suffering termination, and between now and then there were zero changes to the policy or reinforced warning this is a terminable offense, she may have a chance. But in that case, it would be a wrongful discharge not based on a constitutional rights violation. Doesn't seem the case here.
This whole case looks like it was cooked up specifically to create a photo that might as well be a poster -- an armed attractive woman giving the camera a smoldering look, and an armed handsome man looking intense and prepared to act. I'm surprised it's not shirtless.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I should feel bad because this woman is being ripped off by an unscrupulous layer. Oh well, guess I am not a nice person.
ReplyDeleteBut it is impossible to imagine that even the SIG lickiest of judges would find that a private employer can violate an employee's Constitutional rights. (Which is a shame, because it would be funny to watch the clusterfuck that ensued.)
As it is, public employers can ban employees from bring weapons into a building. For instance - Courthouses. Try getting into one of those with a weapon if you're not a police officer.
But even if some deranged Bench Beast did craft some very narrow, This Time Only, ruling, WF is sure to appeal and keep appealing until they land in front of a non-crazy judge.
@aimai-LOL, I'm surprised Cole is still alive, frankly. How in Hell did he survive the Gulf War?
ReplyDeleteNice place he's got, but his "Steve" obsession is bordering on unhealthy. Dude deserves to have a good human partner.
I can't help wondering whether this case would be making waves if the person fired for bringing a gun to work were an unattractive black woman.
ReplyDeleteLet alone a black male.