Employee Insubordination Rights

Insubordination, directly disobeying an order or to a lesser extent employee-employer confrontation, can lead to serious consequences. Fortunately, some employee rights do exist that help protect workers who are charged with insubordination.

Disobeying Orders

A statement must clearly be an order and the manager must give warning of consequences if disobeyed before disciplining an employee for insubordination. According to the Municipal Employees’ Federation, a union that represents more than 2,500 workers, employee rights allow you to disobey orders if they put you in danger or are illegal.

Employee-Employer Confrontation

Employee-employer confrontation that can be considered insubordination includes back talk and profane name calling. Employee rights require the manager to give warnings before taking action for insubordination. For instance, if a worker disrespectfully talks back to a manager, the manager could say, “Next time you talk back like that, I’ll consider the action insubordination and you’ll be sent home.”

Considerations

According to the Municipal Employees’ Federation, even a union can’t protect workers who disobey direct orders. The recommended course of action for an unfair order includes obeying the order and filing a complaint at a later time.

References

• Coalition of University Employees: What is Insubordination?
• Municipal Employees’ Federation: Discipline and Workplace Rights