HB1486 Summary

• Repeals Arkansas Code § 5-73-326 (licensee rights regarding handguns in private employer parking lots) and replaces it with new § 11-5-117 that applies to all firearms, not just concealed handguns.

• Prohibits private employers from preventing employees from transporting or storing lawfully owned firearms in locked, out-of-sight vehicles in employer parking lots.

• Allows employers to prohibit firearms in parking lots under specific circumstances including prohibited places, single-family residences, suspected illegal possession, employer-owned vehicles during work duties, and active disciplinary proceedings.

• Protects former employees from criminal liability for possessing firearms in their vehicles while physically leaving the employer's parking lot immediately following termination.

• Expands civil liability provisions to cover both employers and employees who knowingly violate the new firearm storage statute, with remedies including equitable relief, compensatory damages, and attorney's fees.