Engineer A is free to pursue employment with Company Y provided Engineer A does not disclose any confidential and proprietary design information Engineer A learned about Company X during Engineer A’s employment with the government agency and makes this obligation clear to Company Y before accepting employment.

Confidentiality issues relating to client or employer information has always been an important ethical consideration within the practice of engineering. Several provisions within the NSPE Code of Ethics’ Fundamental Canons, Rules of Practice, and Professional Obligations address, or at least touch upon, these considerations. The ethical concerns in this area relate to the need to preserve the privacy and confidentiality of client or employer information, as well as the proprietary nature of much of what is often contained in the client or employer records. The engineer’s duty in this area is rooted in the obligation to serve as a faithful agent and trustee to the client or employer, and also the obligation to avoid circumstances that could appear to influence the engineer’s professional judgment. Over the years, the Board has considered a number of cases relating to the engineer’s ethical obligation to maintain confidentiality and the impact that obligation may have on current or future clients. In BER Case No. 74-2, the Board held that a part-time consultant arrangement to municipalities by engineers in private practice did not preclude those same engineers from providing normal engineering services to the same municipalities. The Board noted, under the facts, that the engineer’s loyalties were not divided. In BER Case No. 82-6, the Board ruled that where an engineer is retained by the US government to study the causes of a dam failure, it would not be ethical for the engineer to agree to be retained by the contractor involved in the construction of the dam. The contractor had filed a claim against the US government for additional compensation. Citing NSPE Code Section III.4.b., the Board found that nothing in the record indicated that the engineer was given the consent of his former client, the US government, to represent the interests of the contractor in its claim against the government for additional compensation. In another BER case, Case No. 85-4, Engineer ...

Engineer A works for a government agency involved in the design and construction of facilities. During Engineer A’s tenure with the government agency, Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs. Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information. Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X.

What are Engineer A’s ethical obligations under these circumstances?