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.

The duty of engineers to come forward with information on ethical violations by other engineers is a basic ethical obligation. Engineering, like other profession, is a self-policing profession whereby licensed professional engineers have a fundamental obligation to report instances of unprofessional conduct to the appropriate public authorities. The NSPE Board of Ethical Review (Board) has addressed issues relating to the obligations of engineers to report violations and improper actions in the past—although not specifically under the circumstances described in the present case. In BER Case 89-7, Engineer A was retained to investigate the structural integrity of a 60-year old occupied apartment building which his client was planning to sell. Under the terms of the agreement with the client, the structural report written by Engineer A was to remain confidential. In addition, the client made clear to Engineer A that the building is being sold “as is” and he is not planning to take any remedial action to repair or renovate any system within the building prior to its sale. Engineer A performed several structural tests on the building and determined that the building is structurally sound. However, during the course of providing services, the client confided in Engineer A and informed him that the building contained deficiencies in the electrical and mechanical systems which violate applicable codes and standards. While Engineer A was not an electrical nor mechanical engineer, he did realize those deficiencies could cause injury to the occupants of the building and so informs the client. In his report, Engineer A made a brief mention of his conversation with the client concerning the deficiencies. However, in view of the terms of the agreement, Engineer A did not report the safety violations to any third party. In ruling that it was unethical for Engineer A not to report the safety violations to the appropriate public authorities, the Board highlighted the engineer’s pr...

Engineer A observes what he believes is a serious violation of the state board’s rules of professional conduct by Engineer B. Engineer A is not a competitor of Engineer B and does not know Engineer B personally. Thereafter, Engineer A submits an anonymous complaint to the state engineering licensure board identifying Engineer B and the circumstances surrounding the alleged violation of the state board’s rules of professional conduct.

Was it ethical for Engineer A to submit an anonymous letter to the state engineering licensure board?