A law that doesn’t mean what it says

Sometimes a law doesn’t mean what it says it means. Could be that the Legislature was simply fooled into passing a law that makes no sense, but usually it is intentional. It’s like someone offering you a cookie, but the cookie tastes terrible. They gave you a cookie, isn’t that enough?

So it goes with the “Business Security and Employee Privacy Act” which purports to grant employees the right to carry a firearm in their car, concealed and out of sight, so that the employee cannot be disarmed on the way to and from work, and stop employers from searching the cars of employees. The law, passed in 2008, is the GOP’s attempt to appease their constituents who favor the Second Amendment. The law looks to give Georgians better gun rights (why isn’t the Second Amendment enough?), but it fails miserably.

The law, OCGA 16-11-135, says:

a. No private or public employer may have a rule allowing the search of employee’s cars.

b. No private or public employer may condition employment on an employee not having a gun in their car, so long as it is out of sight and locked up.

c. Law doesn’t apply to the company’s cars.

d. Law doesn’t apply if the employer has a secured parking facility, meaning no public access.

Parts (e)-(j) cover lawsuits, basically exempting employers from lawsuits for someone shooting the place up.

Then the coup d’état, subsection “g” guts the whole thing. “Nothing in this Code section shall restrict the rights of private property owners or persons in legal control of property through a lease, a rental agreement, a contract, or any other agreement to control access to such property. When a private property owner or person in legal control of property through a lease, a rental agreement, a contract, or any other agreement is also an employer, his or her rights as a private property owner or person in legal control of property shall govern.”

So if the employer owns, leases or controls the parking lot in any manner, the parking lots rules above don’t apply. The law does apply to governmental agencies, but to essentially no private employer.

Every legal article written on this law has noted that the law is totally unenforceable as to private employers. The Legislature has had five years to fix it and it hasn’t, which only leads one to conclude it intended this law to be meaningless.

And so the madness goes on under the Golden Dome.

Kelly Burke, former district attorney and magistrate judge, is engaged in private practice. He focuses on personal injury cases and corporate litigation. These articles are not designed to give legal advice, but are designed to inform the public about how the law affects their daily lives. Contact Kelly at kelly@burkelasseterllc.com to comment on this article or suggest articles about the law that you’d like to see.

HHJ News