What to do if youremployer asks you to do something that may be illegal?
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What to do if youremployer asks you to do something that may be illegal?
We serviced their machine and received a check payment that they then cancelled. I am being asked to go take the machine down. this seems like a crime to me yet if this is what they ask, what are my options? I don’t want to lose my job but I don’t want to get arrested either.
Asked on April 26, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Colorado
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If you serviced a businesses machine, and the business wrote a check to your employer for that service invoice and then cancelled the payment, then essentially what the business did was a theft of services. In other words, the business obtained the benefit of your company's repair services but your company did not obtain the benefit of the monetary payment. Now your boss is asking you to take the machine down I assume until payment is made. Depending on what the machine is and how this machine is related to your company (i.e., does the business lease the machine from your company), taking it down may be legal. You need to figure out if this machine is being leased from your company so in essence it is your company's machine. If it is not and you are just the repair shop, you cannot simply go and essentially take the machine down.
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