DP6

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

DP6

Should XYZ Manufacturing treat the Code of Ethics' condemnation of Engineer B's discharge threat as a binding constraint on its employment decision regarding Engineer A, or proceed with the discharge on the grounds that the Code does not apply to organizations and the company retains its at-will employment prerogative?

XYZ Manufacturing Company — acting through Engineer B or its leadership — must decide whether to treat the Code of Ethics' condemnation of Engineer B's discharge threat as a binding professional norm that constrains its employment decisions regarding Engineer A, or to proceed with the discharge on the grounds that the Code applies only to individual engineers and not to the company itself, leaving the employment decision within the company's legal prerogative under at-will employment doctrine.

Voluntarily treat the Code of Ethics' condemnation of Engineer B's discharge threat as a binding professional norm governing the company's employment decisions, rescind the discharge threat, and allow Engineer A to continue his Citizens Committee activities without employment consequence, on the grounds that the company's professional reputation and the integrity of its engineering workforce depend on honoring the Code's public welfare provisions.

Proceed with Engineer A's discharge on the grounds that the Code of Ethics applies only to individual engineers and not to the company, that the company retains its at-will employment prerogative as a legal matter, and that the Board's moral condemnation of Engineer B creates no enforceable legal obligation on the company to retain Engineer A.

Defer the discharge decision pending a legal review of applicable whistleblower protection statutes, labor law, and any contractual provisions that might independently constrain the company's ability to terminate Engineer A for civic advocacy activities, thereby separating the legal enforceability question from the ethical condemnation question before taking irreversible action.

XYZ Manufacturing Company