West Virginia Legislature tweaks ‘guns in parking lots’ law

In its recently concluded session, the West Virginia Legislature tweaked the somewhat misleadingly titled West Virginia Business Liability Act—the statute commonly known as the “guns in parking lots” law. Passed in 2018, the Act broadly allows employees and members of the public to stow firearms in personal vehicles when parked in a business’s parking lot. Per the terms of the Act, employers cannot take any action against an employee who has stowed a firearm in accordance with the law. As originally written, the Act prohibited employers from even asking questions of the employee (or customer) about the storing of lawfully possessed firearms in vehicles. Making such inquiries violated the Act and could expose the employer to civil penalties.

What has changed?

Taking effect June 6, 2024, the amendments to the Act are a reaction to a circuit court ruling that state government cannot restrict the ability of employers to ask questions about firearms being stored in parked vehicles on employer property. Such a prohibition was an infringement of the free speech rights of West Virginia employers. The same court held that the prohibition against employers “taking any action” against employees was too broad.

Thus, the language on making inquiries has been removed. Moreover, the legislature has clarified that employers may not remove, terminate, or take any other adverse action against an employee who is protected by the Act. Those prohibitions amplify and provide more notice to employers than the former “taking any action” language.