Ethics and Professional Practice practice questions

Answer: B) Contributing to a county commissioner's campaign with the intent of influencing the contract award

NCEES Model Rules bar licensees from offering commissions, gifts or other valuable consideration to secure work. They also bar political contributions intended to influence the award of a public contract. Presenting qualifications and disclosing conflicts are proper conduct.

• AIncorrect. Accurately presenting qualifications and past experience is the proper, merit-based way to compete for work.
• BCorrect. The Model Rules prohibit political contributions intended to influence a public authority's award of a contract, along with gifts or other valuable consideration offered to secure work.
• CIncorrect. Disclosing a known or potential conflict of interest to the client is something the Model Rules require, not prohibit.
• DIncorrect. A requested presentation of technical capabilities is legitimate marketing. Nothing of value is being offered to influence the decision makers.

Answer: A) Decline to change the data and report the study results objectively

Licensees must report professional work in an objective and truthful manner. Altering a valid time study, whether directly, through manipulated ratings, or 'for internal use only', violates that duty.

• ACorrect. The NCEES Model Rules require licensees to include all relevant and pertinent information in an objective and truthful manner in professional documents and statements. A correctly performed study must be reported as it is.
• BIncorrect. Choosing performance ratings to produce a predetermined result is falsification disguised as method. It is not an objective, truthful report of the study.
• CIncorrect. Disclosing who asked for the change does not make the altered data truthful. The professional document would still misrepresent the study's findings.
• DIncorrect. The duty to be objective and truthful covers all professional documents, internal or external. Decisions affecting employees would still rest on falsified results.

Answer: A) The firm infringes the patent, because making or using a patented invention without the owner's authority is infringement

Under 35 U.S.C. 271(a), making or using a patented invention without authority during the patent term is infringement, even if the copies are never sold. A license from the patent owner is needed.

• ACorrect. Under 35 U.S.C. 271(a), whoever without authority makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells a patented invention during the patent term infringes the patent. Building and using the fixtures without a license is enough.
• BIncorrect. Section 271(a) lists making and using as infringing acts on their own, alongside selling and offering to sell. Keeping the copies for internal use is not a defense.
• CIncorrect. Publishing the patent discloses the invention, but it does not give anyone the right to make or use it during the patent term. Doing so requires the patent owner's authority, such as a license.
• DIncorrect. Small cosmetic changes do not give a firm authority to make or use the patented invention. A slightly modified copy that still embodies the invention can still infringe.

Answer: A) Notify the employer, and any other appropriate authority, that the engineer's judgment was overruled on a matter that endangers safety

Under the NCEES Model Rules, when a licensee's judgment is overruled where safety is endangered, the licensee must notify the employer or client and any other appropriate authority. Logging the objection or adding informal safeguards does not meet that duty.

• ACorrect. The Model Rules require licensees to notify their employer or client, and any other appropriate authority, when their professional judgment is overruled in circumstances that endanger health, safety, or welfare. Skipping lockout exposes workers to hazardous energy, which OSHA says can cause crushing, amputation, and electrocution.
• BIncorrect. A log entry does not meet the duty to notify. When a superior accepts responsibility, the licensee's obligation to put safety first still applies.
• CIncorrect. The rule first requires notifying the employer or client, along with other appropriate authorities. Internal notification is part of the obligation.
• DIncorrect. A watcher is not energy isolation. The hazard is still there, and approving the work would go along with the unsafe decision.

Answer: A) Disclose the offer to the employer as a known or potential conflict of interest

The NCEES Model Rules require licensees to disclose known or potential conflicts of interest to their employer or client. Working on personal time, avoiding confidential data, or staying within one's competence does not remove that duty.

• ACorrect. The Model Rules require licensees to disclose to their employers or clients all known or potential conflicts of interest, or other circumstances that could influence or appear to influence their judgment or the quality of their service.
• BIncorrect. When and where the work is done does not remove a conflict of interest. Paid work for a direct competitor must still be disclosed to the employer.
• CIncorrect. Protecting confidential information is a separate duty. Even if no confidential information is used, the potential conflict must still be disclosed.
• DIncorrect. The competence rule governs what work a licensee may perform. It does not satisfy or replace the duty to disclose a conflict of interest.

Answer: A) Refuse to participate in the violation

• ACorrect. Engineers must obey the law and protect the public.
• BIncorrect. Illegal work is still prohibited.
• CIncorrect. It's unlawful.
• DIncorrect. It's unlawful.

Answer: B) Report the facts to the state licensing board and cooperate with its inquiry

Under the NCEES Model Rules, a licensee who knows or has reason to believe someone has violated engineering licensure laws or rules must report it to the board and cooperate with the board. Private warnings, waiting for harm or notifying only clients do not meet this duty.

• AIncorrect. A private warning does not meet the requirement. The Model Rules require a licensee who has knowledge or reason to believe a violation occurred to report it to the board.
• BCorrect. NCEES Model Rules 240.15 say a licensee with knowledge or reason to believe that any person or firm has violated laws or rules on engineering practice shall report it to the board and cooperate with the board.
• CIncorrect. The duty to report is triggered by knowledge or reason to believe a violation occurred. It does not wait until someone is harmed.
• DIncorrect. The Model Rules direct the report to the licensing board. Warning clients does not meet that obligation.

Answer: B) Withhold approval, document the audit findings, and escalate if public safety could be affected

An approval must reflect the real audit findings. The engineer should withhold it, document the problems, and escalate when public safety may be at risk, rather than giving in to schedule pressure.

• AIncorrect. A signed approval tells everyone who relies on it that the supplier meets requirements. Keeping a private memo does not change that the official record is misleading.
• BCorrect. Professional documents must be objective and truthful. When an engineer's judgment is overruled in a way that could endanger public health, safety, or welfare, the Model Rules require notifying the employer and other appropriate authorities.
• CIncorrect. A manager's pressure does not move responsibility away from the engineer who signs. The engineer remains accountable for what their own approval states.
• DIncorrect. Approving before the supplier has fixed the problems means the approval does not match the actual audit findings. Any re-audit should come before approval, not after.

Answer: B) Misrepresentation

• AIncorrect. It misleads the client.
• BCorrect. Proposals must accurately describe the team.
• CIncorrect. Availability must be real.
• DIncorrect. Honesty is required.

Answer: C) Decline to provide the data unless the former employer gives prior consent

The NCEES Model Rules bar licensees from revealing information obtained in a professional capacity without the client's or employer's prior consent, and this applies to former employers too. Having no NDA, the age of the data or an indemnity agreement does not remove the duty.

• AIncorrect. The Model Rules duty does not depend on a signed nondisclosure agreement. Information obtained in a professional capacity may not be revealed without prior consent.
• BIncorrect. The Model Rules set no time limit after which confidential information may be revealed without consent.
• CCorrect. The NCEES Model Rules state that licensees shall not reveal facts, data or information obtained in a professional capacity without the prior consent of the client or employer, except as authorized or required by law or rules.
• DIncorrect. An indemnity agreement only shifts legal risk. It does not replace the former employer's consent that the Model Rules require.