Engineering Ethics

196 Engineering Ethics: An Industrial Perspective

CASE 6: ELECTRICAL ENGINEER

Ethics Dilemma Scorecard

Public Safety & Welfare

Data Integrity & Representation

Trade Secrets & Industrial Espionage

Gift Giving & Bribery

Principle of Informed Consent

Conflict of Interest

Accountability to Clients & Customers

Fair Treatment

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TELL US YOUR STORY

In order to save money, my company decided to lay off 15% of its total

work force. As a manager, I was responsible for choosing which of the four

engineers in my group would be laid off. My boss advised me to choose the

person least needed for specific projects slated for the next 2 years. Based

on this criterion, I knew I had to fire our engineer on an H1B visa.

This was a terrible choice. The H1B was issued to my company only, and

without it, the engineer would be forced to return to his unstable, impover-

ished country. Legally, when we terminated him, we were only required to

pay for one ticket back to his homeland, but Human Resources (HR)

agreed that we should issue tickets for him and the other members of his

family. If the project list had been different, I could have chosen another

engineer, who was younger, single,American, and could probably get a job

more easily. Should I have chosen the younger engineer instead?

According to HR, because the H1B visa is issued to foreign workers

whose specialized skills cannot be found among U.S. workers, it would be

illegal to choose an American worker for the layoff over a foreign worker.

Sympathy should not alter my choice. After an agonizing 24 hours, I chose

the foreign-born engineer.

LOOKING BACK, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE

DIFFERENTLY

?

Nothing. I made the right choice based on company needs, not personal

sympathy. Besides, as my wife pointed out, professional decisions should

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