Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 02-11 (2002) · Duty To Report Violation—Anonymous Complaint
Professional obligations conflict, and the board applies no fixed rule for which one wins.
Each resolution is recorded as three edges:
competesWith (the tension),
prevailsOver (the obligation the board allowed to win in this case), and
defeasibleUnder (the situation under which the yielding obligation gives way).
The same tension is then traced across comparable cases, where its resolution shifts with context.
Hover any obligation or state to see its definition; click to open it in OntServe.
How this case resolved it
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Engineer A Current Case Self-Policing Foundational Reporting Duty
prevails over
Engineer A Collegial Pre-Reporting Engagement Non-Requirement Serious Violation BER Case
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Peer Violation Observation State
Engineer A Anonymous Filing Permissibility Assessment BER Case
prevails over
Engineer B Procedural Fairness Interest in Knowing Accuser Identity
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Present Case Anonymous Complainant Identity Concealment Fairness
Engineer A BER 89-7 Out-of-Discipline Safety Code Violation Reporting
prevails over
Engineer A BER 89-7 Brief Report Mention Insufficiency
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- BER 89-7 Public Safety at Risk from Building Code Violations
Engineer A Anonymous Filing Permissibility Assessment BER Case
prevails over
Engineer A Collegial Pre-Reporting Engagement Non-Requirement Serious Violation BER Case
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Peer Violation Observation State
Engineer A BER 89-7 Confidentiality Agreement Non-Excuse for Safety Reporting
prevails over
Engineer A BER 89-7 Brief Report Mention Insufficiency
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- BER 89-7 Public Safety at Risk from Building Code Violations
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer A Anonymous Filing Permissibility Assessment BER Case vs Engineer A Current Case Signed Complaint Policy Preference
Engineer A BER 89-7 Confidentiality Agreement Non-Excuse for Safety Reporting vs Engineer A BER 89-7 Out-of-Discipline Safety Code Violation Reporting
Engineer A Current Case Anonymous Complaint Case-Weakening Acknowledgment vs Engineer B Procedural Fairness Interest in Knowing Accuser Identity
What the board concluded
- It was ethical for Engineer A to submit an anonymous letter to the state engineering licensure board as long as the state engineering licensure board has a procedure for accepting anonymous complaints.