i was forced to do what i don't have to do

[tictac]

i am an assembler , supervisor forced me to clean the snow, i refused , then he said that i can go home , is this legal? and what can i do ?

 

[Ohiogal]

i am an assembler , supervisor forced me to clean the snow, i refused , then he said that i can go home , is this legal? and what can i do ?

Unless you have a contract saying you don't have to clean the snow, it is legal. You could even be fired.

 

[Zigner]

Unless you have a contract saying you don't have to clean the snow, it is legal. You could even be fired.

...assuming the OP is anywhere in the US

 

[cbg]

Assuming that you are in the US, your job is whatever your boss says it is. Barring a legally binding and enforceable contract that expressly and in so many words states that your duties are x, y and z and you cannot be required to do anything but x. y and z, if your boss says that today your job is to clean snow, then today you clean snow. And there is no law anywhere in the US that is going to tell him that he can't reassign your duties as he wishes.

 

[CSO286]

I'm betting OP's job description includes a line that reads something like"....and other duties as assigned."

 

[Eekamouse]

I suspect shovelling snow for the company won't be an issue for this guy in the future.

 

[cbg]

Some years back I had a second job working for a hotel as their night auditor. One night we had a real howler of a blizzard, and since the hotel was located in a coastal town that is a favorite for both local and national news coverage, we had a local, a regional, and a national news team staying with us. From approximately midnight or one o'clock till about 6:45, I was the only staff on duty and therefore it was up to me to keep the walks clean since the news teams were going out at all hours to do broadcasts from the pier across the street. I went out once and was literally blown into the snowbank - the wind was so strong I couldn't keep my feet. I came back in absolutely covered in snow, and after teasing me for a few minutes the on-air reporter for the local news team took the shovel away from me and went out and shoveled himself.

Sure wasn't HIS job. But it needed to be done and I couldn't do it if I couldn't stand up, so he stepped up to the plate and did it.

That's what responsible people do - they do what needs doing whether it's their job or not.

 

[Ohiogal]

I have been told more than once to do something not in my job description of lawyer. Guess what? I have done it.

 

[LdiJ]

I think that the only exception to that is if it wasn't physically reasonable to require the person to do the job. I wouldn't for example, want to take the risk of sending a 60 year old out to shovel snow, even if they were in decent health.

 

[cbg]

The poster's question was not whether it was reasonable, though - it was whether it was legal. It is legal.

Additionally, we have been given no reason to believe that the poster is in any way physically unable to do the job.

My 62 year old husband has done a heck of a lot of snow shoveling these past two weeks. What time shall I look for you to come take over for him after the next storm this weekend?

 

[LdiJ]

The poster's question was not whether it was reasonable, though - it was whether it was legal. It is legal.

Additionally, we have been given no reason to believe that the poster is in any way physically unable to do the job.

My 62 year old husband has done a heck of a lot of snow shoveling these past two weeks. What time shall I look for you to come take over for him after the next storm this weekend?

I was talking from the standpoint of an employer who would have a workman's comp claim if the 60 year old had a heart attack shoveling snow (which does happen all too frequently).

 

[commentator]

And if he was fired or chose to quit the job because the employer told him to shovel snow, it would be a maybe call as to whether or not he'd be able to qualify for unemployment insurance. Sometimes, when they want to get rid of someone, an employer will actually instruct them to do something far out of their job assignment, intended to be demeaning or insulting, such as go clean out the toilet when they're an executive. This is an almost direct effort to "force a quit" and usually would result in the decision that the employee had a valid job related reason to quit = unemployment approval. Or if they were fired for refusing to do it, the employer did NOT have a valid job related reason to terminate = unemployment approval.

But I agree that it would be pretty dumb to ask an older employee maybe with health issues anyhow, who didn't regularly do anything strenuous, especially if he was a sort of walking bad attitude. Because the likely thing would be that he'd pick up the shovel, make a couple of passes, grab his back and claim he'd been injured on the job, and the company would be looking at worker's comp and the works. Which is something I've seen happen before.

But a stout person with a good attitude shouldn't object, and it would be totally legal to fire them for refusing. It's quite common for the sake of worker safety for someone to be asked to push a broom or mop up a spill or pick up trash in the work area. That's not a violation of your personal space or rights.

 

[cbg]

I was talking from the standpoint of an employer who would have a workman's comp claim if the 60 year old had a heart attack shoveling snow (which does happen all too frequently).

Show me some evidence that the poster is 60 years old or older, or is in some other way physically unable to do the job instead of pulling the "it's not my job" card, and we'll talk. Until then, I'm responding on the basis of the information we have, which does not include anything to suggest he's got any physical restrictions.

 

[tictac]

i am an assembler , supervisor forced me to clean the snow, i refused , then he said that i can go home , is this legal? and what can i do ?

I refused because I was sick and outside was like 15ºF

 

[justalayman]

So you were incapable of doing your regular job as well? were you fulfilling your regular duties without delay due to being ill?