Short answer. Yes, on the article's own wording. Article 282 of the Labor Code lists willful disobedience of the lawful orders of the employee's employer or representative, in connection with the work, as a just cause for dismissal — the order has to come from the employer or its representative, not from just anyone.
What the law says
Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection with his work
Labor Code, Article 282 — Just Causes For Dismissal. Read the full provision →
The source of the order is written into the ground itself
Article 282 does not describe disobedience of just any order as a just cause for dismissal. The phrase is specific: willful disobedience of the lawful orders of his employer or representative. Two sources are named — the employer directly, or someone acting as the employer's representative — and the just cause is defined around disobedience of orders coming from one of those two. An order from outside that relationship is not what this ground is describing.
'Lawful' and 'in connection with his work' are separate conditions
The article adds two more qualifiers beyond the source. The order has to be lawful — an unlawful directive is not protected by this ground even if it came from the employer. And the disobedience has to relate to an order in connection with his work — meaning tied to the employee's job duties, not to some unrelated matter. All three conditions — proper source, lawfulness, and connection to work — have to be present together. The article does not, on its own text, define who qualifies as a 'representative' — that depends on the actual authority the person was given.
'Willful' is also doing real work in this phrase
The article does not say mere disobedience; it says willful disobedience. That word points to a deliberate, intentional refusal rather than an honest mistake, a misunderstanding of the instruction, or an inability to comply. An employee who failed to follow an order through no fault of their own is in a different position under this article than one who knowingly and intentionally refused a lawful, work-related order from the employer or its representative.
What this means if you are facing this ground
If dismissal is being justified on this ground, it is worth examining each element separately: who actually issued the order, whether it was lawful, whether it connected to your work, and whether your non-compliance was truly willful rather than accidental or impossible to carry out. An order from a co-worker with no authority to direct you, for instance, does not fit the article's description of the employer or representative. A lawyer can help assess whether all the conditions the article requires are actually met in your case.