Luis Rivera, who worked at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga assembly plant and serves as a reserve deputy with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office as a side job, is suing the automaker, which fired him from his job for having a firearm in his private car. Rivera argues that his termination was unlawful under Tennessee’s gun protection law.
According to the complaint, which was reported by News9, Rivera had just completed sheriff’s office training and had stopped at the plant to collect personal items. The belongings also included his department gear and a handgun, which was unloaded and stored safely in a holster inside his vehicle, as per Tennessee’s gun law.
Plant security was also informed about the handgun in the car by Rivera. However, according to Volkswagen’s policies, it prohibits weapons on the plant’s secure premises, even if they are stored in a vehicle parked inside the plant. A reported search of his car revealed the firearm.
The lawsuit filed by Rivera stated that he followed the local law, which allows employees to store firearms locked in their vehicles in parking areas as long as they are kept out of plain sight.
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But Volkswagen argues that it complies with the Tennessee law by having designated parking areas where employees can park vehicles containing firearms, but those areas must be outside the plant’s boundary.
Rivera Sues Volkswagen for $500,000
The automaker also went so far as to say that it allows exceptions for police officers only in emergency situations and not when they are working in the plant as employees.
The court will view this case from several angles, especially if Rivera was aware in advance that he was required to park his vehicle outside the plant premises to comply with Volkswagen’s security policies. The lawsuit is pending in the federal court in Chattanooga.
However, with Rivera fired from the job for having a gun in his car, he is now seeking a minimum of $500,000 in damages, attorney’s fees, and reinstatement.
He admitted that losing the job led him to face financial struggles due to lost wages, and his family had to give up leased vehicles as a result.
Fortunately for him, he is eligible for unemployment benefits after the company failed to prove that he engaged in misconduct.
