Employers are within their legal rights when they prohibit their employees from carrying guns at work, according to lawyers for America Online.
The Virginia-based company asked Weber County Judge Roger S. Dutson Monday to dismiss a lawsuit against them. The lawsuit was filed Oct. 25 by three former employees.
Luke Hansen, Paul Carlson and Jason Melling worked at AOL's Ogden call center until Sept. 18, when they were fired for "possessing and displaying firearms" in the call center parking lot, according to the company.
The former employees claimed AOL's "No Tolerance for Weapons at Work" policy deprived them of their right to have a gun in an area accessible to the public, and that the company failed to maintain a storage area for legally obtained and carried firearms.
They say in their lawsuit that AOL deprived them of "the right to defend themselves as they traveled to and from work."
The former employees sued for wrongful termination and damages. They claim a "substantial public policy" precluded the company from firing them.
"Utah's Constitution and weapons laws contain some of the strongest expressions of public policy in the nation, encouraging the possession of firearms by law-abiding citizens," the original complaint stated.
But in their motion to dismiss, AOL said the former employees have pointed to no law "that prevents an employer and employee from agreeing that as a term and condition of employment, employees may not carry or possess firearms on the employer's property or in the parking areas provided for use by employees."
AOL claims that the firing of Hansen, Carlson and Melling "was a purely private matter resulting from their failure to abide by a condition of employment to which they freely agreed by accepting and continuing employment with AOL."
But the former employees' attorney, Ron J. Kramer, said he does not believe the judge will dismiss the case.
"They're saying there's this contractual agreement between AOL and its employees, but I haven't seen a copy of the contract yet," he said.
Kramer expects that and other matters of fact will have to be determined in court. He also believes the constitutional questions of a Utah citizen's right to bear arms deserve a judge's consideration.
"An employer can't fire someone when it's in violation of public policy, no matter what provision the employee has signed," Kramer said. "Could you have a contract that restricts an employee's right to vote Republican, for example? This case isn't going to be upheld solely because the employees signed an agreement."
AOL spokesman Nicholas J. Graham told the Deseret News that the company "looks forward to vigorously defending" its position.
"We are very proud of our partnership with the Ogden community," Graham said. "They are like a family to us, and we care very much about their security."
Graham says AOL employs almost 900 people at its Ogden call center, which opened five years ago.
E-MAIL: mtitze@desnews.com