Ethics and Professional Practice practice questions

Answer: C) A misrepresentation of past accomplishments that licensees must not make

NCEES Model Rules §240.15 prohibits licensees from misrepresenting past accomplishments or pertinent facts when soliciting work. Claiming credit for projects the firm never performed is unethical misrepresentation.

• AIncorrect. The prohibition is broader than license status. Presentations made to solicit work must not misrepresent pertinent facts, including past accomplishments.
• BIncorrect. The rule against misrepresentation applies no matter who receives the solicitation. It is not limited to public-sector clients.
• CCorrect. The Model Rules state that presentations made to solicit employment or business must not misrepresent pertinent facts about employers, employees, associates, or past accomplishments.
• DIncorrect. The rules of professional conduct cover solicitation of business, not only sealed plans and reports. Advertising and proposals are included.

Answer: B) Report it to the client and recommend corrective action

• AIncorrect. That misleads the client.
• BCorrect. Decisions shouldn't rest on bad data.
• CIncorrect. That's concealment.
• DIncorrect. That's falsification.

Answer: A) Promptly inform the client and correct the error

• ACorrect. Engineers must acknowledge their errors.
• BIncorrect. The error must be disclosed.
• CIncorrect. That's dishonest.
• DIncorrect. The client must be told.

Answer: D) Include all relevant results and, if overruled, notify the employer and appropriate authority

Licensees must include all relevant and pertinent information in their reports, and an employer's instruction does not change that. If an engineer's judgment is overruled in circumstances that endanger the public, they must notify the appropriate authorities.

• AIncorrect. A footnote does not satisfy the requirement to include all relevant and pertinent information. The submitted report would still misrepresent the facility's performance.
• BIncorrect. The duty covers all relevant and pertinent information, not just exceedances. Dropping data that show the upset still makes the report misleading.
• CIncorrect. Licensees have their own obligation to be objective and truthful in professional documents. The employer's legal responsibility does not override it.
• DCorrect. The Model Rules require all relevant and pertinent information to be presented objectively and truthfully. When an engineer's judgment is overruled in circumstances that endanger the public, they must notify their employer or client and other appropriate authorities.

Answer: B) Improper

• AIncorrect. It must be disclosed.
• BCorrect. It's an undisclosed conflict of interest.
• CIncorrect. Disclosure is still required.
• DIncorrect. It's an undisclosed conflict.

Answer: C) Decline to certify and tell the client the data must be corrected before submittal

NPDES certifications state that the information is true, accurate and complete, and there are penalties for knowingly submitting false information. Engineers must keep their professional documents truthful, so the engineer must refuse to certify until the data are corrected.

• AIncorrect. The certification still says the submitted information is true and accurate, so a cover letter does not cure knowingly certifying wrong data.
• BIncorrect. Whoever signs the certification is personally responsible for it. Licensees must make their professional documents objective and truthful no matter who else is accountable.
• CCorrect. The engineer must not certify information known to be false and should insist that accurate data be submitted, even if the deadline is missed.
• DIncorrect. Knowingly certifying false data is a violation when it happens, and correcting it later does not undo the false certification.

Answer: A) Include the confirmed contamination findings objectively and completely in the report

The NCEES Model Rules require reports to include all relevant and pertinent information in an objective and truthful manner. Client confidentiality, softer wording, and client releases do not change that duty.

• ACorrect. Licensees must include all relevant and pertinent information in an objective and truthful manner in professional reports, statements, and testimony.
• BIncorrect. The confidentiality rule limits disclosure to outside parties. It does not allow leaving pertinent findings out of the professional report itself.
• CIncorrect. A report that keeps the numbers but slants how they are described is not objective, even though no data were falsified.
• DIncorrect. A client release does not excuse the licensee from the duty to report truthfully and completely. That duty exists to protect the public.

Answer: C) Decline, because giving any valuable consideration to secure work is prohibited

NCEES Model Rules bar licensees from giving or receiving any commission, gift, or other valuable consideration, directly or indirectly, to secure work, and from making political contributions meant to influence a public contract award. The only acceptable response is to decline.

• AIncorrect. Calling the payment a subconsultant fee only hides it. It is still valuable consideration given to secure work, which the rules prohibit whether given directly or indirectly.
• BIncorrect. The Model Rules specifically bar political contributions made with the intent to influence a public authority's contract award.
• CCorrect. Licensees shall not offer, give, solicit, or receive any commission, gift, or other valuable consideration, directly or indirectly, to secure work.
• DIncorrect. Sending the payment somewhere else does not change its purpose. It is still consideration given to win the contract, which the rules prohibit.

Answer: B) Notify the client and the appropriate regulatory authority of the endangering condition

When an engineer's judgment is overruled and the public is endangered, the NCEES Model Rules require notifying the employer or client and the appropriate authority. That duty overrides ordinary client confidentiality.

• AIncorrect. The confidentiality rule has an exception for disclosures authorized or required by law or rules. When public health is endangered, the rules require notifying the appropriate authority.
• BCorrect. When their judgment is overruled and public health, safety, or welfare is endangered, licensees must notify their employer or client and any other appropriate authority.
• CIncorrect. Withdrawing quietly leaves the danger in place and does not meet the duty to notify the appropriate authority.
• DIncorrect. The rule calls for notifying the employer or client and the appropriate authority. Going to the media is not the required path.

Answer: A) Disclose the offer to the client and step aside from inspecting that contractor's work

A job offer from a contractor whose work the engineer is inspecting is a conflict of interest. The NCEES Model Rules require disclosing it to the client and avoiding it, for example by stepping aside from the inspection.

• ACorrect. The Model Rules require licensees to disclose all known or potential conflicts of interest that could influence, or appear to influence, their judgment. Stepping aside avoids the conflict.
• BIncorrect. A pending job with the contractor being inspected creates a conflict of interest right away. Delaying the start date does not remove the appearance of influence.
• CIncorrect. The offer is already a potential conflict, and the Model Rules require disclosing potential conflicts to the client, not hiding them.
• DIncorrect. The Model Rules forbid accepting gratuities from contractors, directly or indirectly, in connection with work for clients. Separately, they require disclosing conflicts of interest of any kind, not just cash.