Tell them no.
In my early engineering days, I was tasked with all sorts of non-engineering things. Squeaky hinges, broken chairs, changing light bulbs, etc. I drew the line in a few areas, things like unclogging a toilet for example, required a visit from the plumber.
As a part of these building managment janator services, maintaining the septic tank at an acceptable level so the toilets worked fell under my perview. Every so often, I would call the honey dipper to come and haul all that crap away. Then one day the leach field completely failed. It was only a matter of time, the thing had been in service since 1947. So, the decision was made to connect up to the city sewer line that had been installed a few years previous. Why they didn’t just connect to it when the town was installing it is beyond me, however, that all happened before my employment.
It took a while to line up the permits, get a contractor, get a plumber, hire an excavator etc. Of course, the toilets were still being used, because people need to poop after all, at work. It is there right. Under the constitution. Therefore, I hired the honey dipper to come every few days and pump the tank, there were no other options. Until the general manager had an idea, we could just pump the raw sewage out onto the field by the antenna towers.
No, I said, that is illegal. Besides, there is a swamp right there and the sewage would get into the swamp.
His reply was “Deer shit in the woods, I’m telling you to pump out the tank. I don’t want to pay for the shit pumper anymore.”
No.
Raising his voice another few dB “PUMP OUT THAT TANK OR ELSE.”
I very calmly said “Or else what?”
He stomped off to his office to sulk. I never did pump out that septic tank into the field and it took several more weeks to make the sewer connection. Every three to four days, that septic service truck would be out there, sucking all the shit out of the tank, in full view of his office. I would snicker, I wish I could have rigged up a camera to tape his reaction.
What if I had caved and did as he asked. Then one day, the health department stops by because the neighbors complained about the smell. I would have been held responsible, even though I was doing what my manager asked me to. That is the moral of the story, even if you are ordered to do something that you know is illegal, it is ultimately you who will be held responsible. It is better to go job hunting that to face potential legal consequences, not to mention the loss of reputation, this is a very small business after all.
As radio engineers, we have a whole host of rules that must be adhered to, FCC rules, building codes, fire codes, FAA rules, OSHA rules, etc. It is up to you to know them and ensure that they are followed within your department.
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