Utah Supremes: Right to Self-Defense Trumps Employers’ Rights

By Johannes Paulsen

Last week, the Utah Supreme Court held, allowed the matter of Shawn H. Ray et al v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. to proceed. That’s news because under Utah law the right of self-defense trumps an employer’s right to terminate at-will employees in situations where “an employee reasonably believes that force is necessary to defend against an imminent threat of serious bodily harm and the employee has no opportunity to withdraw.” . . .

Two of the plaintiffs, Derek Holt and Eric Hunter, had been employed by Walmart’s West Valley City, Utah store in the asset protection team. They were terminated for violating Walmart’s policy AP-09, which governed interactions with persons suspected of theft:

If the Suspect is believed to possess a weapon, the Suspect must not be approached. If during an approach or investigation, it becomes apparent that the Suspect has a weapon or brandishes or threatens use of a weapon, all associates must disengage from the situation, withdraw to a safe position, and contact law enforcement.

If at any point the Suspect or any other [sic] involved becomes violent, disengage from the confrontation, withdraw to a safe position and contact law enforcement

The facts behind their termination were:

Mr. Holt and Mr. …read more

Source:: Truth About Guns