Is there a law about carrying a knife at work?

Question

Hadley · Answer

Confirm which country and ideally occupation  Basically, in the U.K, you can have a fixed blade but you do need a reason for having it

Abigail · Answer

You bet our life there is. I got the opportunity to fire a consultant on my very first management job.
This guy brought a briefcase full of money and a big ass hunting knife to an IT client. Turns out the guy had an after work business selling fried fish on the local street corners. The reason he had it didn’t matter once the customer saw it. Had to fire the fool before the police showed up and arrested him.
Unfortunately they don’t teach you how to deal with this in business school.

Arya · Answer

It varies by jurisdiction.

Eloise124 · Answer

You don’t have laws at work, you have rules, policies and processes. If it’s against the law to carry a knife, then that applies wherever you are. If you have to use a knife at work as a legitimate part of what you do then your employer will have done all the safety checks and the guidance for employees should cover that. Other than that – why would someone need or want to carry a knife at all, never mind at work?

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Josie97 · Answer

Assuming that the knife is otherwise legal and you don’t work in a place like a courthouse where legal knives are banned, in the US, no, there is no law preventing you from carrying a knife at work.
However, in the US, employers get to set their own rules. That Constitution with a Bill of Rights that you hear about? It doesn’t apply in the workplace. Worksites are authoritarian regimes in which employers can not only prevent you from carrying a knife but can also dictate what you wear, what you say, your posture, and your facial expressions.
In the real world, it would be the very rare employer who would bother to ban employees from carrying pocket knives. I’ve never heard of one doing so. However, I think it would be the very rare employer who allowed employees to wear hunting knives on their belts. The law wouldn’t prohibit this, but it would empower the employer to prohibit it.
In other countries, the legal regime may be different.

Autumn · Answer

This would really depend on your jurisdiction when it comes to laws. What is legal in one city, state, province, country, etc. might not be legal in another.
In addition to laws, companies would probably have their own rules you’d have to follow if you want to work there.

Kaylee · Answer

Where I work there are strict policy restricting weapons. Someone who wanted me fired turned me in for carrying a “weapon”. My pocket knife. This is Texas. More than half of the employees carry pocket knives for cutting tape, boxes, and as a letter opener. Things change when you work with Biden/Harris loving Nazis.
When my boss refused to fire me, they took it up to the OIG. Office of inspector general. I was suspended a day, but not fired.
Bottom line. A weapons restriction policy where you work can be the tool needed to harass and/or fire you if you work with someone who hates you.
If you carry a pocket knife. Don’t let anyone see it. If anyone needs to borrow a knife? To bad, you don’t have one.
We live in a hateful world. You must protect yourself. You can’t be as helpful as you want to be.

Sarah · Answer

Thank you for asking a question that is too broad to answer- your having shared NO information regarding location- the nature of the work. nature of the knife, what state province NATION are we talking about- since laws differ place to place.
Now go stand outside and tell the world you are sorry. Then rewrite your question and try again.

Kaka · Answer

As others stated, it isnt against the law, BUT, before being hired at work you had to sign paperwork that you didnt read- and in it it does state about that. Majority of jobs wont let you bring any kind of knife to work unless you are an electrician, HVAC, or maintenance technician ( Since they have to use electrician knives, hvac blades, etc. )
But it all comes down to how sneaky you are and whether or not you actually care about it and are just asking in case you are ever caught with a knife.

Raelynn · Answer

When I was supervising a warehouse I asked the boss if I could wear a knife, in a sheath, as I was constantly opening cardboard cartons and I thought the ‘carton’ knives, with internal razor blades, were unsafe.
Permission was granted provided I didn’t wear the knife when coming into or leaving work for home.

Vivian · Answer

A law? Generally, no.
A policy? Check.
In primary school? Don’t bother.
In college? I didn’t get any trouble for it (and I’ve carried a blade every day since my fifth birthday, except for two months in Basic. I usually have two or three blades on me these days – the blade in my 600DET, a solid folder clipped in my pocket, and a fixed blade on my left hip.)
For context, I live in California.

Remi · Answer

It depends on the law where you live. In Texas in the US, you can carry a knife of virtually any type except for certain places. So it is not the knife that is regulated but where you can carry it. For example, you cannot carry a knife into a mental hospital, polling place, or airport’s secure side. Otherwise, you can carry your knife, lead sap, brass knuckles, or collapsable baton on the street, in a garage, or on a walk across town. If you can carry it at work would be explained in the employee handbook if there is one. If you work at a privately owned liquor store and asked the boss if you can carry pepper spray and a baton for protection and a box cutter to open merchandise, that would be his call. Since this is not a prohibited location, you could carry your nine-inch blade Katana on your belt. But it is his business and may ask you not to carry it.

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Luna · Answer

There is no law about that, but the place you work at may have a policy against it. If you go to work with a hunting knife on your belt, you might be told to leave it at home or stay at home with it.

Amaya · Answer

No general law.. Butchers are generally required to have a knife. Same with chefs. And sailors. On the other hand, people who work in my office are prohibited from bringing all weapons on the premises. Each of those policies is lawful in my State.

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Abigail · Answer

Original question:  Is there a law about carrying a knife at work?   In the US, laws regarding carrying knives typically involve the type of knife - switchblade, size and length, if it is double edged or not, but not where you can carry legal knives. That does not mean your work place will not have rules. These laws will vary by state.

Amara · Answer

Is there a law about carrying a knife at work?
A soldier, a butcher, a cook, a detective may have o carry a knife while on duty.
A sikh by religion carries a Kirpan (long Handled Knife)
The knife may be a tool of work.
In certain other professions, like a shop salesman, a postal clerk, a railway booking clekr will have no necessity for carrying a knife and it will not be considered a tool for their work.
As a passenger in an aircraft you are prohibited from carryng knife and other sharp objects on your perosn.
Therefore, carrying a knife will depend upon what type of work is expected of the person in that particular place.
Children are not allowed to carry knife as it may endanger his own life or that of others. They are not expected to know the harmful effects and hence are not allowed to handle a knife.
Rule will therefore undergo change depending upon the person, place and the purpose of carrying one.
Raghavan AVS

Beatrix · Answer

Probably not so much a law as a business policy that may forbid it.  I don’t know where you are so it’s hard to say.

Madelyn · Answer

Not that I know of.
A cook or chef uses one to prepare food. A waitress sets tables with knife, spoons and fork. A carpenter uses one to cut a length of rope. Landscaper will trim plants at work. Mover will slice open a shipping box. Grocer cuts fruit from vine to sell. Hunter/ tour guide uses one to cut path in woods. Criminal will use one to gain access while robbing a house. Commercial diver uses one while working under water. A soldier has many practical uses. Police use it as defense and even to break window to rescue someone. Art form of knife throwing.
Knives come in many sizes and are useful tool.
Davis Caplan, Architect

Ximena · Answer

Maybe. As others have commented,..  At my place of employment, any bladed thing is prohibited..and it is a stupid policy.  Fired. First offense. I have never heard of it being enforced.

Liliana · Answer

That depends on where you work. While I was a welder, I carried a Buck 110 on my work belt every day. As a Correction Officer, I was not allowed to bring a knife into the jail.

Sophia · Answer

What is the jurisdiction? (Some places may outlaw weapons, others may not). How big is the knife? Is it being carried in a pocket/concealed or is it visible in the belt of the person? What age is the carrier? Has the carrier been legally estopped from carrying weapons due to previous felony conviction? Where is the knife being carried (Location)? (Some places such as churches or schools may have a no weapons policy. There are as many questions to your question, that it is impossible to give an answer. Think about it

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Quinn · Answer

Here’s the California law on carrying knives:

There’s no specific law allowing or banning a knife at work. But the workplace isn’t a public space, so any employer is free to set their own rules. State law will not supersede an employer’s more restrictive rules.
That is, an employer can’t allow you to carry a switchblade (more liberal than state law) but they can say no pocket knives, not even a little “pen knife.”

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Sarah · Answer

There may be a state, county or city law, but the most important thing to know and perhaps follow is your ‘work’s Company Policy about knives on their property.

Kinsley · Answer

An employer has the right to tell you that you are not allowed to have weapons of any kind because it is their own private property. Not because it is a law of the state or federal government, but it’s their own rules, (their “law”). So while you won’t go to jail for violating their “law”, you can be fired and told not to return. Now you don’t have a job.
There’s some states that say that as long as it’s keep in your car, it’s ok because the car is YOUR property, even …

Kylie97 · Answer

Most state and federal buildings don't allow them.  In a work place there are rules for employment. As long as they are not preventing a protected right, yes, they can have rules preventing any “weapon'.  You'll find some will place blame on authoritarian rules. That's b.s. We ask make the choice to either accept the workplace rules or not work there. Really simple. Rules start at home, in schools. Sadly today's messed mentality is unable to accept rules. Bad kids. Bad teenagers. Then they become bad adults.

Iris · Answer

In the UK (it's all I know) carrying a knife in public could be a reason for a police stop and questioning you.  Your answer will make the difference as to there you're arrested or not, and also what the knife is.  If it's a pocket knife, with a non locking blade, and under 3 inches, and you have a GOOD reason for carrying it, you should be ok.  Any fixed blades knife, you would need an extremely good reason for carrying it.  Locked blades are the same. Regardless of length.  Of you have a reputation for fighting and carry a knife, or a reputation for bulgary, or other crimes where you could be considered going armed or tooled up, then you're likely to get arrested.  It's a funny law, and it depends a lot on you and your circumstances.  Wearing a knife in a workplace, ain't a great thing to do, but again would depend on circumstances, but while it may not be illegal, it maybe against company policy.  I have carried a pocket knife for as long as I can remember, and I've never been stopped or questioned about it. It's in its pouch on my belt, and gets used as needed.  Winter time we have a crappy “German market' which includes a hotdog type stand selling griddled German sausages. I have no teeth to be able to bite through the sausage, so I cut mine up. Did that multiple times in quite crowded areas, and not once was I asked or questioned by the patroling police, yet I got my knife out each time to cut it up.

Jade · Answer

In the USA there's Laws in General pertaining to Knives, such as Blade Length, Concealment, etc……. Certain Jobs it's outright Illegal, Courts, Post Offices, Hospitals, any Municipal Building, etc……. Most Companies Ban any kind of Weapon unless you are Security, even Security usually doesn't carry Knives.

Kaka · Answer

Some cities and states have laws about the length of blades. In Michigan the maximum length of a knife that’s being carried is three inches.
As for the job, depends on the job. For example a chef may use a knife exceeding six inches. Same with a butcher.
Where as a construction worker may carry an exacto blade with only a half inch of exposed blade. Unless you work in some kind of government building or hospital, you’re probably restricted from carrying such.
Most other work places wont know or care as long as you don’t bring it up.

Maria · Answer

You mean carrying a concealed weapon that has nothing to do with your job?
Maybe, maybe not, it depends on what your job states is acceptable, what your local authority States is acceptable. We don’t know where you are so we can only go by the basics. If it is not necessary and it can cause harm it death then it is a weapon. End of.

Faith97 · Answer

I work in a hospital. I carry a folding #3 scalpel handle in my scrubs.
I also have a 12″, 1-1/2 edge hollow ground amputation knife in my desk drawer.
The hospital says “no weapons”. I say… how about hospital owned death tools?

Luna · Answer

Check your local statutes, but most employers have individual safety policies prohibiting carrying any type of weapon in the work environment and you could be discplined or termianted for doing so.

Cora · Answer

You are required to always inform any person on whose premises you work of the fact you are armed.
Many business do not permit arms or firearms on premises. Know your company rules before you bring any kind of weapon on private premises.

Katherine · Answer

Yes. The laws vary from state to state but generally they are covered by sections of the law relating to concealed carry of weapons. Everyone knows about the fights on concealed or open carry of guns. But knives are often included in the laws. And states may even ban specific knives or types from being owned (switchblades and ninja throwing stars are often banned due to various reasons). I WILL ALSO ADD — Bringing a knife into work no matter the laws in a state is a very very very bad idea. Companies may have their own policies far stricter than the states. Other employees may feel threatened by such an action and will complain up the chain or perhaps even call security or the police. You are basically putting your employment at risk if you do such a thing and could even face arrest (having the weapon even if not specifically stated in laws will violate many work place safety laws across the states).

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Is there a law about carrying a knife at work?

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