Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 19-1 (2019) · Disclosure of Personal Information
Professional obligations conflict, and the board applies no fixed rule for which one wins.
Each resolution is recorded as three edges:
competesWith (the tension),
prevailsOver (the obligation the board allowed to win in this case), and
defeasibleUnder (the situation under which the yielding obligation gives way).
The same tension is then traced across comparable cases, where its resolution shifts with context.
Hover any obligation or state to see its definition; click to open it in OntServe.
How this case resolved it
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BER 97-11 Engineer A Pending Complaint Non-Disclosure to Client B Ethical Permissibility
prevails over
BER 97-11 Engineer A Prudential Background Information Weighing
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Competing Duties State
Present Case Engineer A ADA Condition Non-Disclosure Ethics Code Deception Provision Non-Overextension
prevails over
BER 75-5 Personal Misconduct Ethics Code Jurisdiction Application
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Autism Non-Disclosure State
- Engineer A Privacy vs Deception Tension State
Engineer A 25-Year Performance Record Materiality Rebuttal Present Case
prevails over
BER 75-5 Personal Misconduct Ethics Code Jurisdiction Application
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Autism Non-Disclosure State
- Engineer A Privacy vs Deception Tension State
Engineer A ADA Non-Disclosure Non-Deception Compliance Present Case
prevails over
BER 75-5 Personal Misconduct Ethics Code Jurisdiction Application
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Autism Non-Disclosure State
- Engineer A Privacy vs Deception Tension State
Present Case Engineer A Personal Condition vs Engineering Conduct Distinction
prevails over
BER 03-6 Engineer F Contractor License Revocation Non-Disclosure Violation
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
No State context committed for this edge.
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Current Engineering Employer Disability Bias Non-Facilitation Present Case vs Engineer A Voluntary Autism Disclosure Prudential Weighing Present Case
Engineer A ADA Non-Disclosure Non-Deception Compliance Present Case vs Engineer A Authentic Self-Advocacy Permission Exercise Present Case
Engineer A ADA Non-Disclosure Non-Deception Compliance Present Case vs Engineer A Voluntary Autism Disclosure Prudential Weighing Present Case
Engineer A ADA Non-Disclosure Non-Deception Compliance Present Case vs Present Case Engineer A ADA Condition Non-Disclosure Ethics Code Deception Provision Non-Overextension
What the board concluded
- Engineer A is certainly free to disclose his autism if he so chooses.
- However, the NSPE Code of Ethics does not compel disclosure nor does a failure to disclose somehow constitutes a 'deception.'
How comparable cases resolved the same tension
BER 97-11 Engineer A Prudential Background Information Weighing yields to BER 97-11 Engineer A Pending Complaint Non-Disclosure to Client B Ethical Permissibility. The yielding obligation ("BER 97-11 Engineer A Prudential Background Information Weighing") recurs across cases; the obligation that overrides it and the context under which it yields differ case by case. This is the case-law move: not a single rule, but a family of context-indexed resolutions.
| Case | Obligation that prevailed | Yielding obligation | Context (defeasibleUnder) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
20-1
Job Qualifications—Disclosure of Material Fact
|
Engineer F BER 03-6 Contractor License Revocation Non-Disclosure | Engineer A BER 97-11 Pending Allegation Prudential Weighing | Engineer A Pending Ethics Complaint Non-Disclosure to Client B |
|
02-11
Duty To Report Violation—Anonymous Complaint
|
Engineer A BER 89-7 Confidentiality Agreement Non-Excuse for Safety Reporting | Engineer A BER 89-7 Brief Report Mention Insufficiency | BER 89-7 Public Safety at Risk from Building Code Violations |
|
92-6
Public Welfare - Hazardous Waste
|
BER 89-7 Structural Engineer Public Authority Safety Reporting | BER 89-7 Structural Engineer Confidentiality Non-Override Public Safety Reporting | BER 89-7 Confidentiality Agreement Suppressing Safety Report; BER 89-7 Out-of-Scope Code Violation in Occupied Building Sale |
|
00-5
Public Welfare—Bridge Structure
|
BER 89-7 Engineer Confidentiality Non-Override Structural Safety | BER 89-7 Engineer Brief Report Mention Insufficiency Safety Notification | BER 89-7 Confidentiality Agreement Suppressing Occupant Safety Report |
|
90-5
Failure To Report Information Affecting...
|
BER-82-2 Engineer A Client Confidentiality Breach Without Prior Consent | BER-82-2 Engineer A Unauthorized Home Inspection Report Disclosure to Real Estate Firm | BER 82-2: Confidential Information Held — Home Inspection Findings |