The top U.S. executive of steelmaker ArcelorMittal is urging Gov. Mitch Daniels to veto legislation that would outlaw workplace rules preventing employees from keeping firearms and ammunition in their vehicles at work.
"I do not ever want to be put into a situation where I have to call the spouse or family member of one of our employees and tell them their loved one won't be coming home tonight because a fellow employee went to their car, got a gun, and shot a co-worker," ArcelorMittal USA CEO Michael Rippey wrote to Daniels one day after the bill was passed by the Indiana General Assembly.
The ArcelorMittal executive also derided provisions in the proposed law that provide exemptions for some industries as "arbitrary and capricious" and lacking any "rational basis."
The March 5 letter was provided to The Times by ArcelorMittal in response to an inquiry on the company's position on the bill. The company employs 10,000 in Northwest Indiana and is the world's largest steelmaker.
ArcelorMittal is just one of "dozens and dozens" of Indiana companies reacting to the passage of House Bill 1065 by the General Assembly, according to Kevin Brinegar, president of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber has received more comments and protests from Indiana companies over the so-called "bring your gun to work law" than any other single item on its legislative agenda, Brinegar said.
The chamber has lobbied against such gun bills since the first one was introduced in committee three years ago, Brinegar said.
"Companies are concerned about the safety of their employees," Brinegar said. "And they believe it is their property, and they ought to be able to determine if guns should be brought on their property."
The National Rifle Association has pushed for years for laws prohibiting employers from preventing employees from keeping guns and ammunition in their cars at work, according to Rachael Parsons, an NRA spokeswoman.
If Daniels signs the bill, Indiana would be the 13th state to pass such a law, according to NRA figures.
"We are always on the side of freedom for law-abiding people, and this is a right-to-carry issue," Parsons said.
The NRA is aware companies often cite safety and liability concerns when opposing such bills, Parsons said. But she said those concerns have to be balanced against an "individual's fundamental, constitutional right to defend themselves."
Although the Indiana law often is described as limiting guns to company parking lots, there is no such language in the bill. Instead, it simply prohibits most employers from taking any action against employees or contract workers who have guns or ammunition out of sight in their locked vehicles. The measure includes exemptions for child care facilities, schools, shelters and similar sites.
BP, which operates the largest oil refinery in the United States in Whiting, lobbied against the bill, according to Tom Keilman, government and public affairs director for the refinery. The Whiting plant was not exempted from the bill, Keilman said.
Beyond that, BP referred all questions to local chambers of commerce.
Tina Bengs, a partner specializing in employment law at Hoeppner Wagner & Evans LLP, which has offices in Valparaiso and Merrillville, said employers are bombarding labor specialists with questions on the pending law. They mainly want to know what they still could do to promote workplace safety if the bill becomes law.
"The employers are concerned that if it's the employer's property, how come all of a sudden they have to forgo the right to police it?" Bengs said.
Rhonda Kaplar, human resources director at Valparaiso's Task Force Tips, said personnel directors around the region are "in shock" the bill prohibiting firearm bans may be signed into law.
The situation is a little different at Task Force Tips, because the company has a policy allowing firearms to be kept in locked cars in the company parking lot, Kaplar said. Anyone with a handgun must have a copy of their carry permit on file at the company's human resources department.
She said that may have to do with the company's history as a small manufacturer where workers know each other well. Years ago, it had a policy that allowed employees to bring unloaded firearms into work to be machined on the shop floor. But that policy eventually was done away with, Kaplar said.
