DP4

DecisionPoint
http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint

DP4

Should Engineer B report Engineer A's misconduct to the licensing board while disclosing the competitive relationship, report without such disclosure, or refrain from reporting given the conflict of interest created by Engineer B's direct competitive stake in the outcome?

Engineer B, a principal of Firm X and a direct commercial competitor of Engineer A, has learned of Engineer A's misconduct — including the false non-competition representation and the disparaging misrepresentations to Firm X's clients. Engineer B faces the question of whether to report Engineer A's conduct to the appropriate licensing authority, and if so, how to handle the competitive motivation that also drives the report. The engineering profession's self-policing obligation is genuine, but Engineer B's direct competitive interest in suppressing Engineer A's client solicitation creates a risk that the licensing board complaint becomes a strategic business weapon.

File an accurate, factually grounded report of Engineer A's misconduct with the licensing board while proactively disclosing to the board that Engineer B is a direct commercial competitor of Engineer A and that Engineer A is actively soliciting Firm X's clients, enabling the board to weigh the report's context appropriately.

File a report of Engineer A's misconduct with the licensing board presenting the violations on their professional merits without disclosing the competitive relationship, on the grounds that the validity of the underlying violations is independent of the reporter's motivations and that disclosure of competitive interest is not formally required.

Refrain from filing the complaint directly given the conflict of interest, and instead bring the documented misconduct to the attention of a neutral professional body or uninvolved licensed engineer who can evaluate the violations and file a report without the competitive motivation that compromises Engineer B's position.

Engineer B