Hi There,

I work for a telecommunications company who has offshored some job duties.

The Department head has requested that volunteers to go overseas and help set up this offshore support dept. Now, folks have gone over but now no one else wants to be deployed out there for up to 2 months. Management has said they will be foreced to select and make people go overseas.

Can they do this??

They State "needs of the business" is all they need to do anything.

Being a Manager and salaried do i have the option of saying no?

Thanks for your time...

Yes, they can assign you to an overseas project. If you choose not to go, the company can take any disciplinary steps it sees fit to, up to and including termination.

I'm not unsympathetic to your situation, but the company is not doing anything illegal.

Yes, they can assign you to an overseas project. If you choose not to go, the company can take any disciplinary steps it sees fit to, up to and including termination.

I'm not unsympathetic to your situation, but the company is not doing anything illegal.

Marketeer, thanks very much for the quick response. I may be asking a bit but, can you point me to the referance sections where I could find that? I just want to be fully informed and read what my option are in case they do end up tapping me on the shoulder.

If/since this is permissable by the employer is there any criteria that they would need to follow in selecting folks? Say someone says they cant because of XYZ reason and then I am picked and my reason is "not good enough" and end up leaving (voluntarily or not) does that place the company in any sort of position where it would need to apply is decision making eqally across the board in the dept?

again, thanks for the quick response above.

It's not that there is a law giving them permission to do this; it's that there is no law that prohibits it.

Barring a bona fide and enforceable contract that says otherwise or an illegally discriminatory reason (such as a medical disability), there is no criteria they are required to use; they may select whomever they wish to represent them overseas. If they don't think your reason for not going is good enough, that's a shame but you'll still either end up going or risking being fired. Again, outside of illegal discrimination, (race, religion, national origin etc.) they have no obligation to apply the criteria they wish to use across the board.

It's not that there is a law giving them permission to do this; it's that there is no law that prohibits it.

Barring a bona fide and enforceable contract that says otherwise or an illegally discriminatory reason (such as a medical disability), there is no criteria they are required to use; they may select whomever they wish to represent them overseas. If they don't think your reason for not going is good enough, that's a shame but you'll still either end up going or risking being fired. Again, outside of illegal discrimination, (race, religion, national origin etc.) they have no obligation to apply the criteria they wish to use across the board.

CBG and Marketeer,

Thanks for the responses and follow up to my questions. Both of you have been very helpfull to what I had thought was a problem I'd never be able to research and find on my own. My thanks to both of you.