I don't understand the alternative, that it would be legal to break the law as long as it were a petty crime and you were being paid to do it? It's a principle, it applies broadly. We tend to think about it in terms of the most dramatic and memorable example but that's neither here nor there.

Really?

You might want to ask most contractors, or contract lawyers, about that.

"I was just following orders" for basic property damage typically doesn't hold up in court for them either.