The Engineer's Rights

Rights

What is a right?

Rights

What is a right?

A legal, equitable, or moral entitlement to something. OED

legal carrying the weight of law

equitable fair, equal, just
moral

Of or relating to human character or behavior considered as

good or bad OED
moral point of view considers others (not just self), takes pro/con
position, assumes universalizability

The Engineer's Rights

Legal Rights
Natural (Self-Evident) Rights
Professional Rights
Employee Rights

Legal Rights

The Bill of Rights of the US Constitution, amendments I X:

I. Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition
II. Keep and bear arms
III.Not quartering soldiers in peacetime without consent
IV.Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures
V. Due process, etc.
VI.Speedy and public trial, etc.
VII.Trial by jury, etc.
VIII.No excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishment
IX.Protection of rights not specifically enumerated
X. Powers reserved to States and people

What special status do legal rights like these have?

5

Natural (Self-Evident) Rights

From the US Declaration of Independence:

... We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

What status do natural rights like these have

in the US?
in general?

The Engineer's Professional Rights

1. Right of professional conscience

Right of professional conscience involves

technical judgment
exercise of reasoned moral convictions

moral authority to act without unreasonable interference from

others

Justification?

The Engineer's Professional Rights

1. Right of professional conscience

Right of professional conscience involves

technical judgment
exercise of reasoned moral convictions

moral authority to act without unreasonable interference from

others

Justification?

Duties (professional responsibilities) rights to pursue them

Ethical theories

duty ethics
rule utilitarianism
rights ethics
religious ethics

The Engineer's Professional Rights

2. Right of conscientious refusal

Refuse to engage in unethical professional conduct.

Turn down assignment on moral (not technical, etc.)
principles.
Issues?

What is unethical? May be no shared agreement,

Are there alternate assignments for the engineer?

Limited right of conscientious refusal.

3. Right to recognition

Monetary: Fair remuneration (salary, benefits)

Non-monetary
Issues?

What is fair?
Professional societies may help.

The Engineer's Professional Rights

1. Right of professional conscience

What is conscience?

10

The Engineer's Professional Rights

1. Right of professional conscience

What is conscience?

Consciousness of right and wrong; moral sense. ...The

internal acknowledgement or recognition of the moral quality of
one's motives and actions; the sense of right and wrong as
regards things for which one is responsible; the faculty or
principle which pronounces upon the moral quality of one's
actions or motives, approving the right and condemning the
wrong. OED

11

The Engineer's Employee Rights

1. Privacy

control of access to & use of information about oneself

2. Equal opportunity: non-discrimination

unjustified treatment on arbitrary/irrelevant (non-job-related)

grounds

3. Equal opportunity: freedom from sexual harassment

i.e., from ... unwanted imposition of sexual requirements in

the context of a relationship of unequal power ...

4. Equal opportunity: affirmative action

preference or advantage to group denied fair treatment in

the past

weak form: e.g., hire minority over equally qualified other

strong form: e.g., hire minority over more qualified other

Whistleblowing

Disclosure, using other than approved organizational

channels, of wrongdoing to someone in a position to take
action.

disclosure: information intentionally conveyed

channels: chain of command, organizational hierarchy, etc.
wrongdoing: significant moral/ethical problem for the
organization (e.g., public danger, illegal acts, unethical
policies/practices, injustice, etc.)
discloser: employee, perhaps former employee, perhaps
someone closely associated with the organization
recipient: someone who can do something about it (e.g.,
government official, news media, high-level official in
organization, etc.)

Types of Whistleblowing
1. External whistleblowing

information goes outside organization

2. Internal whistleblowing

information remains within organization

3. Open whistleblowing

discloser/agent identifies him/herself

4. Anonymous whistleblowing

discloser/agent remains anonymous

Motives For Whistleblowing

Why blow the whistle?

Is whistleblowing always justified?

Whistleblowing: Other Examples

1. Kermit Vandivier (technical writer): BF Goodrich A7-D
brake tests

Forced against his will to falsify test reports for brake to

meet USAF specifications.
Later resigned, then reported, eventually to Sen. William
Proxmire.

2. Joseph Carson: DOE inspector, Oak Ridge nuclear

facilities

Over 13 years reported cases of fraud, waste, abuse,

violations
Remained with DOE, but reassigned, suffered illness, stress
DOE had to pay legal $400,000 legal expenses
Carson cautions engineers on whistleblowing

Whistleblowing: Other Examples

3. William Cor: Los Alamos gloveboxes

Reported concerns over leaks, need for more testing

Stress, illness, absence from work, termination

4. David Monts: University of New Orleans fire alarms

Insisted fire alarms needed

Fired

5. Jeffrey Robins: Vermont waste treatment plant

Refused to sign certification, later forced to do so

Filed grievance with Labor Relations Board, lost, but kept
job

6. Andrew Siemaszko: Davis Besse nuclear plant

Alleged to OSHA that he was prevented from fully

investigating corrosion
Fired for pressing for further investigations

Justified Whistleblowing
1. Actual/potential harm is serious.
2. Case has been documented.
3. Concerns have been reported to immediate supervisors
(up the chain of command).
4. No satisfactory response has been received up the chain.
5. Reasonable hope that whistleblowing will help.

Whistleblowing Outcomes

Consequences to the whistleblower

disciplined
subject to retaliation
ostracized
fired
blacklisted from future employment
etc.

Protections for the whistleblower

public recognition (e.g., in news media)

support by professional organizations (e.g., IEEE)

Have been cited in court decisions, but not always to

engineers' benefit

laws (e.g., Civil Service Reform Act of 1978)

Federal, state laws an inconsistent patchwork

Whistleblowing: Examples From Text

1. Ernest Fitzgerald: USAF cost overruns
2. Daniel Applegate: DC-10 floor/hydraulics (whistle
swallowed by Convair/Douglas Aircraft
3. Virginia Edgerton: NYPD/prosecutor's software
4. Roger Boisjoly: Challenger disaster

Cautionary reports (internal, before disaster)

Report to Rogers Commission (external, after disaster)

5. Holger Hjortsvang, Robert Bruder, Max Blankenzee: BART

Internal memos (unsafe train control, poor testing) unheeded

Anonymous memo to management
Information to BART's board of directors
Engagement of private consultant who corroborated
Release of anonymous memos to press by director
Engineers vindicated but punished

Whistleblowing Common Sense

1. Work through channels.
2. Express objections early.
3. Be discreet, tactful, low-key. Consider others' opinions,
feelings.
4. Keep supervisors informed.
5. Be informed, accurate, and document your findings and
actions.
6. Consult trusted colleagues and others (discreetly).
7. Consult professional society.
8. Consult a lawyer.
9. ...

Whistleblowing: Additional Considerations

Oliver, Douglas, Whistle-blowing engineer, J. Profl. Issues in
Engrg. Educ. and Pract. 129, 246 (2003) 246-256.
Engineers may have a whistleblowing duty.
May face lawsuits if they fail.
NSPE, ASCE, ASME, IEEE codes have reporting clauses.
May sometimes have obligation.
Federal, state laws an inconsistent patchwork.
Therefore, legal protection varies.
Difficult to make general statement about protection one
can expect.

Whistleblowing: Additional Considerations

(Oliver)
If ethical cultural climate lacking, consider employment
elsewhere.
If whistleblowing becomes ethically necessary

Double-check your motives.

Document the situation fully.
Seek out a second opinion from competent & trusted
colleague.
Report the matter to internal authorities first.
Consider finding a position with a new employer prior to
blowing.
Avoid whistle-blower lawsuits.