Legal Question in Employment Law in Washington
If I am ASKED, meaning I am given a choice, and not ordered to complete a task, is it considered insubordination and can I be fired for this? Does swearing in front of a customer even if it is not listed in the personal standards of conduct in my employee handbook constitute being fired? my handbook states; "Insubordination, including improper conduct toward a supervisor or department manager, or refusal to perform tasks assigned by a supervisor or department manager in the appropriate manner" and "Associates must avoid conduct that would cause Fry's to be viewed in a negative manner or expose Fry's to claims of harassment, libel, slander, or defamation."
1 Answer from Attorneys
I'm not optimistic about your chances of prevailing here. I'm assuming your concern is whether you will qualify for unemployment compensation, since the employer can actually terminate your employment for any reason, so long as it is not illegal.
Swearing in front of a customer certainly is "conduct that would cause Fry's to be viewed in a negative manner." As far as being "asked" to do a task, I would need more information. If the supervisor said, "Would you prefer to do task A or task B?" and you chose task B, I don't think that's insubordination. However, if the supervisor said, "Would you mind terribly doing Task A?", I think it's generally understood that the supervisor is instructing you to do task A, and is simply trying to maintain a degree of civility that would not be present if he or she just barked, "Go do task A NOW!" Refusal in that case would be insubordination, in my view.
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