Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Is Universal Studios a school?

Universal Studios Orlando last year fired a concealed weapons permit holder for having a firearm legally stored in his vehicle. Even though there is a law in Florida which states that an employer cannot discipline an employee who has a concealed weapons permit in their vehicle, Universal claims that they are exempt because there is a school on the property.

They are correct in that the law states:

(7) EXCEPTIONS.—The prohibitions in subsection (4) do not apply to:
(a) Any school property as defined and regulated under s. 790.115.
But is Universal Studios considered school property simply because a small portion of the total property has a school on it? Let's see what 790.115 has to say:

For the purposes of this section, “school” means any preschool, elementary school, middle school, junior high school, secondary school, career center, or postsecondary school, whether public or nonpublic.
Perhaps, but that does open a can of worms for Universal. You see, that means that each and every employee, contractor, and vendor must undergo a background check per Chapter 1012 of Florida statutes:

Except as provided in s. 1012.467 or s. 1012.468, noninstructional school district employees or contractual personnel who are permitted access on school grounds when students are present, who have direct contact with students or who have access to or control of school funds must meet level 2 screening requirements as described in s. 1012.32. Contractual personnel shall include any vendor, individual, or entity under contract with a school or the school board.
They all must be rescreened every 5 years.

Then there is THIS law:

386.212 Smoking prohibited near school property; penalty.—
(1) It is unlawful for any person under 18 years of age to smoke tobacco in, on, or within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising a public or private elementary, middle, or secondary school between the hours of 6 a.m. and midnight. This section does not apply to any person occupying a moving vehicle or within a private residence.

 Does Universal REALLY want to go down that road?



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