DP1

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

DP1

Should Engineer A disclose Clover City's overture to ABC management before resigning, or may he act on the overture without disclosure given that the client — not Engineer A — initiated the suggestion?

Engineer A, while still employed by ABC and actively working on Clover City's water treatment project, receives an unsolicited suggestion from Clover City officials to establish an independent firm — with signals of a retainer and elevated storage tank design contract. The faithful agent obligation requires loyalty to ABC during employment, but the overture was client-initiated and Engineer A took no affirmative steps to solicit it. The question is whether Engineer A must disclose this overture to ABC management before acting on it.

Inform ABC management of Clover City's suggestion and the signals of future work, giving ABC the opportunity to reassign the project, renegotiate its client relationship, or take other protective measures before Engineer A departs.

Resign from ABC without disclosing the overture — treating the client-initiated nature of the suggestion as shifting moral responsibility to Clover City — and voluntarily refrain from soliciting ABC's clients for approximately one year as a good-faith transition measure.

Decline Clover City's suggestion entirely while still employed, completing the water treatment project as ABC's faithful agent and deferring any consideration of independent practice until after the engagement concludes and no active conflict exists.

Engineer A