Free Enterprise Departure Right Invoked for Engineer A
P · Principle
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/178#Free_Enterprise_Departure_Right_Invoked_for_Engineer_A
Properties
Instance of
At-WillEmploymentSymmetryandEngineerMobilityRight
http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#At-WillEmploymentSymmetryandEngineerMobilityRight
Applied to
Engineer A's decision to establish an independent engineering firm after departing ABC
Balancing with
Faithful Agent Obligation Within Ethical Limits
Tripartite Interest Balancing in Engineer Departure Scenarios
Concrete expression
The BER affirmed that Engineer A's decision to break off from ABC Engineering and establish his own firm raises no general ethical proscription, grounding this in the fundamental principle of free enterprise and engineer mobility
Confidence
0.95
Importance
high
Interpretation
In this context, the free enterprise principle means that the mere act of departing and establishing a competing firm is not ethically problematic — the ethical analysis focuses on the manner of departure, not the departure itself
Invoked by
Engineer A ABC Employee Water Treatment Report Developer
Tension resolution
The Board found no ethical proscription against the departure itself, focusing analysis on the conduct surrounding the departure rather than the departure decision
Source Evidence
Source text
It is not unusual for engineers, employed by others, at some point, to break off from their employer and go into business for themselves. This is a fundamental principle of this nation's free enterprise system and generally should not be discouraged.
Text references
As a general matter, this practice raises no ethical issues for the BER's consideration.
It is not unusual for engineers, employed by others, at some point, to break off from their employer and go into business for themselves. This is a fundamental principle of this nation's free enterprise system and generally should not be discouraged.
the Board can find no general ethical proscription limiting Engineer A's decision to establish an engineering firm
TTL
@prefix case178: <http://proethica.org/ontology/case/178#> .
@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#> .
case178:Free_Enterprise_Departure_Right_Invoked_for_Engineer_A a proeth:At-WillEmploymentSymmetryandEngineerMobilityRight,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "Free Enterprise Departure Right Invoked for Engineer A" ;
proeth:appliedto "Engineer A's decision to establish an independent engineering firm after departing ABC" ;
proeth:balancingwith "Faithful Agent Obligation Within Ethical Limits",
"Tripartite Interest Balancing in Engineer Departure Scenarios" ;
proeth:conceptCategory "Principle" ;
proeth:concreteexpression "The BER affirmed that Engineer A's decision to break off from ABC Engineering and establish his own firm raises no general ethical proscription, grounding this in the fundamental principle of free enterprise and engineer mobility" ;
proeth:confidence "0.95" ;
proeth:discoveredincase "178" ;
proeth:discoveredinpass "2" ;
proeth:discoveredinsection "discussion" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredat "2026-03-01T08:35:45.392536+00:00" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredincase "178" ;
proeth:generatedattime "2026-03-01T08:35:45.392536+00:00" ;
proeth:importance "high" ;
proeth:interpretation "In this context, the free enterprise principle means that the mere act of departing and establishing a competing firm is not ethically problematic — the ethical analysis focuses on the manner of departure, not the departure itself" ;
proeth:invokedby "Engineer A ABC Employee Water Treatment Report Developer" ;
proeth:principleclass "At-Will Employment Symmetry and Engineer Mobility Right" ;
proeth:sourcetext "It is not unusual for engineers, employed by others, at some point, to break off from their employer and go into business for themselves. This is a fundamental principle of this nation's free enterprise system and generally should not be discouraged." ;
proeth:tensionresolution "The Board found no ethical proscription against the departure itself, focusing analysis on the conduct surrounding the departure rather than the departure decision" ;
proeth:textreferences "As a general matter, this practice raises no ethical issues for the BER's consideration.",
"It is not unusual for engineers, employed by others, at some point, to break off from their employer and go into business for themselves. This is a fundamental principle of this nation's free enterprise system and generally should not be discouraged.",
"the Board can find no general ethical proscription limiting Engineer A's decision to establish an engineering firm" ;
proeth:wasattributedto "Case 178 Extraction" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-03-01T08:48:26.019381"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 178 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Discovered in case
178
Discovered in pass
2
Discovered in section
discussion
First discovered
2026-03-01T08:35:45.392536+00:00
First case
178
Generated
2026-03-01T08:35:45.392536+00:00
Attributed to
Case 178 Extraction
Generated
2026-03-01T08:48:26.019381
Generated by
ProEthica Case 178 Extraction