Engineer F had an ethical obligation to report on the employment application the revocation of his contractor’s license.

The obligation to provide full and complete disclosure to employers or clients is a critical one for professional engineers. The scope of this obligation is sometimes subject to examination depending upon the issues involved and other factors. Two previous Board of Ethical Review cases provide some background for considering this case. The first is BER Case 97-11, where Engineer A was retained by Client B to perform design services and provide a Critical Path Method (CPM) schedule for a manufacturing facility. Engineer A prepared the plans, specifications, and the CPM schedule. During the rendering of services to Client B on this project, the state board of professional engineers contacted Engineer A regarding an ethics complaint filed against Engineer A by Client C relating to services provided on a project for Client C that were similar to the services being performed for Client B. Client C alleged that Engineer A lacked the competence to perform the services in question. Engineer A did not believe it was necessary to notify Client B of the pending complaint. Later, through another party, Client B learned of the ethics complaint filed against Engineer A and told Engineer A that he was upset by the allegations and that Engineer A should have brought the matter to Client B's attention. In finding that it was ethical for Engineer A not to report to Client B the ethics complaint filed against Engineer A by Client C, the Board noted that while an engineer clearly has an ethical obligation to act as a faithful agent and trustee for the benefit of a client, avoid deceptive acts, be objective and truthful, avoid conflicts, etc., such obligations would not compel an engineer to automatically disclose that a complaint had been filed against the engineer with the state engineering licensure board. As the Board noted, a complaint is a mere allegation and does not amount to a finding of fact or conclusion of law. Said the Board, “No engineer should be compelled to disclose p...

Engineer F is a professional engineer and applies for a professional engineering position with an engineering firm. Previously, Engineer F was the owner of a fire sprinkler contracting firm which was required to have a contractor’s license. On the engineering firm employment application, there is a question asking whether the engineer “has ever been disciplined in the practice of professional engineering or had his license suspended or revoked?” Engineer F responds in the negative on the employment application. Later, the engineering firm learns that while Engineer F’s engineering license was never revoked or suspended, Engineer F’s contractor’s license was revoked because he allowed an unlicensed individual who was unrelated to his contracting firm to use the contractor license number on another project.

Did Engineer F have an ethical obligation to report on the employment application the revocation of his contractor’s license?