Non-Competition Representation Integrity Obligation Violated by Engineer A
P · Principle
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/127#Non-Competition_Representation_Integrity_Obligation_Violated_by_Engineer_A
Properties
Instance of
Non-CompetitionRepresentationIntegrityObligation
http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#Non-CompetitionRepresentationIntegrityObligation
Applied to
Engineer A's departure representation to Firm X
Engineer A's subsequent solicitation of Firm X clients and staff
Balancing with
At-Will Employment Symmetry and Engineer Mobility Right
Free and Open Competition as Engineering Ethics Boundary Condition
Concrete expression
Engineer A explicitly represented at departure from Firm X that he was starting a one-person firm and would not be in competition with Firm X; this representation created an ethical obligation of fidelity to the stated intent; Engineer A's subsequent direct competitive solicitation of Firm X's clients and staff constituted a violation of professional honesty norms
Confidence
0.95
Importance
high
Interpretation
The representation was not legally binding but created an ethical obligation; the Board found that Engineer A 'intended the statement to be a truthful and honest statement of fact' and that his subsequent actions were 'in direct conflict with his statement'
Invoked by
NSPE Board of Ethical Review
Tension resolution
The voluntary representation of non-competition, once made, constrained Engineer A's subsequent conduct beyond what the general mobility right would otherwise permit; the ethical obligation arose from the representation itself, not from any legal constraint
Source Evidence
Source text
Engineer A made it clear at the time of his departure from Firm X that he was going to start his own one-person consulting firm, Firm Y, and that he would not be in the position of competing with Firm X.
Text references
Engineer A made it clear at the time of his departure from Firm X that he was going to start his own one-person consulting firm, Firm Y, and that he would not be in the position of competing with Firm X.
Engineer A's statement clearly could have a significant impact on the manner in which Firm X treated Engineer A during Engineer A's departure from Firm X.
However, it is apparent that Engineer A's subsequent actions were in direct conflict with his statement.
While Engineer A was not ethically obligated to make this statement, one must assume that Engineer A intended the statement to be a truthful and honest statement of fact.
TTL
@prefix case127: <http://proethica.org/ontology/case/127#> .
@prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
@prefix proeth: <http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#> .
@prefix prov: <http://www.w3.org/ns/prov#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .
case127:Non-Competition_Representation_Integrity_Obligation_Violated_by_Engineer_A a proeth:Non-CompetitionRepresentationIntegrityObligation,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "Non-Competition Representation Integrity Obligation Violated by Engineer A" ;
proeth:appliedto "Engineer A's departure representation to Firm X",
"Engineer A's subsequent solicitation of Firm X clients and staff" ;
proeth:balancingwith "At-Will Employment Symmetry and Engineer Mobility Right",
"Free and Open Competition as Engineering Ethics Boundary Condition" ;
proeth:conceptCategory "Principle" ;
proeth:concreteexpression "Engineer A explicitly represented at departure from Firm X that he was starting a one-person firm and would not be in competition with Firm X; this representation created an ethical obligation of fidelity to the stated intent; Engineer A's subsequent direct competitive solicitation of Firm X's clients and staff constituted a violation of professional honesty norms" ;
proeth:confidence "0.95" ;
proeth:discoveredincase "127" ;
proeth:discoveredinpass "2" ;
proeth:discoveredinsection "discussion" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredat "2026-03-01T03:21:56.514585+00:00" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredincase "127" ;
proeth:generatedattime "2026-03-01T03:21:56.514585+00:00" ;
proeth:importance "high" ;
proeth:interpretation "The representation was not legally binding but created an ethical obligation; the Board found that Engineer A 'intended the statement to be a truthful and honest statement of fact' and that his subsequent actions were 'in direct conflict with his statement'" ;
proeth:invokedby "NSPE Board of Ethical Review" ;
proeth:principleclass "Non-Competition Representation Integrity Obligation" ;
proeth:sourcetext "Engineer A made it clear at the time of his departure from Firm X that he was going to start his own one-person consulting firm, Firm Y, and that he would not be in the position of competing with Firm X." ;
proeth:tensionresolution "The voluntary representation of non-competition, once made, constrained Engineer A's subsequent conduct beyond what the general mobility right would otherwise permit; the ethical obligation arose from the representation itself, not from any legal constraint" ;
proeth:textreferences "Engineer A made it clear at the time of his departure from Firm X that he was going to start his own one-person consulting firm, Firm Y, and that he would not be in the position of competing with Firm X.",
"Engineer A's statement clearly could have a significant impact on the manner in which Firm X treated Engineer A during Engineer A's departure from Firm X.",
"However, it is apparent that Engineer A's subsequent actions were in direct conflict with his statement.",
"While Engineer A was not ethically obligated to make this statement, one must assume that Engineer A intended the statement to be a truthful and honest statement of fact." ;
proeth:wasattributedto "Case 127 Extraction" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-03-01T03:44:36.609822"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 127 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Discovered in case
127
Discovered in pass
2
Discovered in section
discussion
First discovered
2026-03-01T03:21:56.514585+00:00
First case
127
Generated
2026-03-01T03:21:56.514585+00:00
Attributed to
Case 127 Extraction
Generated
2026-03-01T03:44:36.609822
Generated by
ProEthica Case 127 Extraction