Obey Now, Grieve Later

“Obey now, grieve later” – an employee should obey a supervisors lawful order and grieve the order later if the employee believes the order was in violation of a negotiated agreement or policy. There are three generally recognized exceptions to the “obey now, grieve later” rule, but the two that are most common are: 1) when the order is illegal; 2) when compliance with the order would pose a threat to the safety, health or welfare of the officer or another. This is a tricky area and extreme caution should be used before declaring an exception.