A Study That Won't Make You Feel Good in Half the Country

Sara Murray of the WSJ has an interesting story this week about state legislation in the now 23 states that as of January will require employers to allow employees to bring weapons into their parking lots. Guns in the Parking Lot: A Delicate Workplace Issue. 

What caught my attention was the mention of this statistic:

 A 2005 North Carolina-based study in the American Journal of Public Health showed that workplaces that allowed guns were about five times more likely to have a worker get killed on the job compared to workplaces that prohibited all kinds of weapons.

For guns, the linkage was actually 5 to 7 times more likely. For those who want to get into the weeds, a link to an abstract of the study is here.

Now one study alone is not enough to dictate policy, but if I am an employer responsible for assembling a large group of humans 300+ times a year, it would certainly give me sufficient pause to ask for a concrete explanation of why such a legislative action makes sense.

Blogging Is a Habit

And like any other habit, it is much easier to fall out of than create.  I am always amazed how after working out regularly for several months, missing a couple of weeks can put me back to ground zero in terms of the work out “habit.”

That has certainly happened to me with blogging as well.  But with the first Monday of October, which of course is the opening of the current term of the U.S. Supreme Court, it seems a like a good time to try to kick the habit back in gear.

At least I have been doing some things, including sharing some of my thoughts on the practice of law with the folks at the Paralegal 411 website:  http://www.paralegal411.org/interviews/michael-w-fox/

And there’s more in store.  This Friday in Austin, Angie Marshall and I will be speaking at our firm’s seminar on:

TITLE VII AND EMPLOYMENT LAW: THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS

When Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it marked not only a turning point in civil rights, but the beginning of the imposition of an adversary system in the workplace. Trace the history of the development of anti-discrimination law, obtain a greater understanding of current cutting edge issues, and gain an insight into the future during this informative session.

There will be lots of other great speakers and topics as well, including former NLRB member,  Brian E. Hayes.  For more information and registration information, check here:  11^th Annual Labor and Employment Law Update.

And before the year ends, I will be speaking  in lovely Charleston, South Carolina with Peter Hughes and Anthony Alfano, Chief Employment, Labor & Benefits Counsel, Tyco at a program designed exclusively for Labor and Employment law in house counsel .

Our topic:

Trial Techniques for In-House Counsel: Don’t Make Juries Mad

Taking a case before a jury can be a nerve-wracking prospect for in-house counsel. The stakes are high and the results can be gratifying . . . or astonishing. This session will cover multiple trial issues and strategies, including juror insights and strategies for voir dire, challenging evidentiary issues, preparing witnesses, selecting experts, and more.

And hopefully, by then I will also be back in the blogging habit.