Illegal work

On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 23:12:01 -0500 Brian wrote: | Assume your boss walk up to you one day and ask you to do some work on a industrial | setting. No inspection what he is asking of you may get someone killed and at least | damage several thousand dollars of equipment. What do you do?

Pull out a .44 and tell him "If someone is gonna die, then 'Make my day'".

:-)

Actually I'd play along for a while, but have the whistle ready.

Do you even need to ask?

You are a professional engineer. It is your personal reputation that is at stake. Take some notes concerning this request for future reference. You can make your own decisions concerning the request.

You wire the equipment up so that it is safe.

If he orders you to do something that isn't safe you refuse.

ask for a clarification explain that you misunderstood the request.

I once worked for a company that wanted me to falsify records to the government about labor and materials used on a project. I refused. I quit the next day. Then I called the feds and turned them in. Sure did not help my career. But I feel better about doing it.

When your boss asks you to do something that can damage the company (litigation or damage to equipment) you should start by pointing it out to him, then escallate if that doesn't get him to reconsider. Somewhere between his boss and the legal department they will figure out the long term danger is not worth some short term advantage. If not, you should reconsider why you work there. That is the kind of thinking that gets companies sued out of existance, along with your pension and job security.

I believe this is the best answer so far, except I would take it a bit further. After explaining you need additional clarification ask to have the response in writing.

Every time I have faced the same sceniaro I found that asking for direction in writing ended up with the request going away.

Louis

Go and subscribe to a course on the speaking of grammatically-correct English?

"Louis Bybee" wrote in news:1cFCc.175949$Ly.9987@attbi_s01:

I have been in this situation before, and I said 'Put it down in writing, sign and date it, I want the original, you can keep a copy. 99.9% of the time, they will refuse to do it, just as you refuse to do the work, no more problem. The other 0.1% of the time, refuse to do the work, and go above that boss' head, if possible. After you step on enough heads, you will eventually get to someone who will listen, but under no circumstances, should you knowingly do work that could endanger other people or equipment. Should someone get hurt, you could be held liable for manslaughter or other charges, since you *knew* it was an unsafe situation.

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company in Alaska routinely does this. Do the work or get run off.

I told my boss where he can go. I start with a new company Monday.

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company in Alaska routinely does this. Do the work or get run off.