January 15, 2001

In another attempt to impose its political opinions on its employees, AOL recently fired three workers for having firearms in their cars! The three are Luke Hansen, Jason Melling and Paul Carlson. All three worked at AOL’s Ogden, Utah facility. According to Hansen, they had worked at AOL for two to four years, and all had good employee records and good reviews from their supervisors. Unfortunately the three also enjoy shooting.

On September 14, 2000, Luke, Jason and Paul met after work in the AOL parking lot to go shooting at a local gun range. In order to carpool to the range, Jason and Paul transferred their firearms from their cars to Luke’s truck, a matter of carrying them a few yards. The firearms were unloaded and in cases, and the handguns had trigger locks in place. Luke’s firearms were in his truck and he never touched Jason or Paul’s firearms. Luke and Paul hold valid Utah concealed weapons permits, and Jason is in the process of obtaining one, so all three are familiar with safe handling and Utah laws.

Although all three worked during the subsequent three days, nothing about the firearms was mentioned. But, on Monday, Sept. 18, they were fired for "violating AOL’s employee policy" which states that firearms are forbidden on company property, including the parking lot.

AOL does have its firearms policy posted inside the front and back doors of the building, stating that firearms are not permitted in the building or in the parking lot, and all three employees were aware of this policy. However, they were also aware that AOL’s policy violates Utah state law.

AOL states that it is a "secure facility", although under Utah law secure facilities can be designated only by the legislature, and include places such as courts, airports, mental health facilities, and prisons. By definition, a place open to the public cannot be a "secure facility", and AOL’s parking lot is open to the public. (Actually, it’s a group of marked stalls in a public parking lot.) In addition, a secure facility is required to provide locked safe storage for anyone lawfully carrying a firearm, and accept responsibility for stored firearms, something AOL has not done.

Now, Hansen, Carlson and Melling filed suit against AOL for wrongful termination. AOL has so far refused to comment. Mace Molen, the Director of Human Resources had a message on his phone saying he’s "on vacation".

Employees fired for having guns in parking lot can sue

Judge Roger S. Dutson who is hearing the case in Weber County's 2nd District Court, on January 12, refused a request by America Online to dismiss a lawsuit filed by three former employees of its Ogden call center who were fired for possessing guns in the company's parking lot. said too many questions regarding the termination of Luke Hansen, Paul Carlson and Jason Melling remain for him to grant the request filed by the nation's largest Internet service provider.

The case is being watched closely by gun rights advocates, anti-gun activists and large employers. AOL is among several national corporations that ban employees from carrying weapons while on company property