Administrative to Manufacturing

rhammett

Can you direct an administrative clerical employee to work in manufacturing production when they have spare time? What are the consequences to the company for doing such?

tom

Assuming no union involvement, you can direct your employee to perform any duty you have need for as long as you are not jeopardizing their safety.

CuriousG

I would want to be sure this "administrative" person has the appropriate skills and knowledge to perform the manufacturing duties assigned.

A wise mentor once pointed out to me "There a plenty of perfectly legal actions, that are just plain stupid." Sorry, his words, not mine.

What is the purpose of this assignment? Is your company so desparate for workers that you need every hand on deck? Or, could this be an attempt by a supervisor to force this employee to quit-in which case you could be facing a Wrongful Termination lawsuit.

If I were you, I would be sure that the motive behind the assignment is pure and is grounded in a legitimate business need. While employers do have the right to assign and change work duties, more and more courts are ruling the Employment-At-Will is tempered by the Common Law requirement to deal in "fair and good faith."