State of South Dakota  
EIGHTY-SEVENTH SESSION
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, 2012  

267T0628   HOUSE JUDICIARY ENGROSSED    NO.  HB 1132 -  1/30/2012  

Introduced by:    Representatives Rausch, Cronin, Gosch, Hoffman, Hunt, Wick, and Willadsen and Senators Olson (Russell), Brown, Gray, Rave, and Rhoden
 

        FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to prohibit businesses and employers from establishing certain policies against the ability of an invitee or employee to store firearms and ammunition in a locked motor vehicle parked on the premises.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
    Section 1. No business or other public or private employer may establish, maintain, or enforce a policy or rule that prohibits any person from transporting or storing, on any area provided for invitee or employee parking, a firearm or ammunition if the person is otherwise in compliance with all applicable state laws and regulations, and the firearm or ammunition is locked out of sight within the trunk, glove box, or other enclosed compartment or area within a privately-owned motor vehicle.
    Section 2. Any person who is legally entitled to transport or store a firearm or ammunition, but is denied the opportunity to do so by a policy or rule prohibited by section 1 of this Act, may bring a civil action in the appropriate court to enjoin any business entity or other public or private employer from violating section 1 of this Act. In any action brought pursuant to this

section, court costs and attorney fees shall be awarded to the prevailing plaintiff.
    Section 3. Any employee discharged by any business or other public or private employer for a violation of a policy or rule prohibited by section 1 of this Act, if the employee was lawfully transporting or storing a firearm or ammunition out of plain sight in a locked motor vehicle, is entitled to the recovery of the following:

            (1)    Reinstatement to the same position held at the time of the employee's termination from employment, or to an equivalent position;
            (2)    Reinstatement of the employee's full fringe benefits and seniority rights;
            (3)    Compensation for lost wages, benefits, or other lost remuneration caused by the termination; and
            (4)    Payment of reasonable attorney's fees and legal costs incurred.
    Section 4. No business or other public or private employer may be held liable in any civil action for damages, injuries, or death resulting from or arising out of another person's actions involving a firearm or ammunition transported or stored pursuant to this Act, including the theft of a firearm from an employee's or invitee's automobile, unless the business or other public or private employer solicited or procured the injurious actions.