TexasCHLforum.com

Texas Senate Bill 321, passed in 2011, "prohibit(s) a public or private employer from prohibiting an employee who holds a concealed handgun license issued by the Department of Public Safety or who otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm or ammunition from transporting or storing a firearm or ammunition the employee is lawfully authorized to possess in a locked, privately owned motor vehicle in a parking area the employer provides for employees, with certain exceptions.

The bill specifies that the prohibition does not prohibit an employer from prohibiting an employee who holds a concealed handgun license, or who otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm, from possessing a firearm the employee is otherwise authorized by law to possess on the premises of the employer's business. “Premises” has the meaning provided in Penal Code Section 46.035(f)(3).

The bill provides immunity from civil liability for a public or private employer or the employer's principal, officer, director, employee, or agent for any damages resulting from or arising out of an occurrence involving a firearm or ammunition transported or stored in accordance with the bill's provisions, except in cases of gross negligence, and establishes that such immunity does not limit or alter the personal liability of an individual or employee who engages in certain actions involving a firearm or ammunition."

Basically, they can keep you from carrying in the office but cannot prevent you from storing your weapon in your car during work hours. While I'm not a fan of keeping a firearm in my car when I'm not also in my car, at least I do not have to leave the house unarmed. And we do have a gated parking garage, which helps.

When I challenged my HR folks on this, as our employee handbook still lists the pre-2011 prohibition of firearms on premises (including the parking facilities), they told me that they knew about the change in the law, and while they had no plans to try to enforce a now-illegal policy, they were not going to update the published policy.