Ethical situation at work

[Almeria]

Help–I’m not sure if I did the right thing. I’ve been asked to gather some information to be given to a 3rd party. If the 3rd party uses that information, it would be in violation of at least one state law that I know of, and I think federal law as well. I believe the act of giving or selling this information to a 3rd party is also illegal, but I do not know that for a fact. I have a moral problem with gathering this information, and have refused to do so. I have personal information that would be listed as well, and if someone else gathers the info for my superiors and my personal information is used without my consent, I will report it to the proper authorities.

This should be a no-brainer, but for some reason I’m struggling with this. I really need this job, and my superiors should really know better. I did do the right thing, right?

 

[tkdnick]

There is nothing wrong with saying that you cannot do something based on moral principles, and a business cannot fire you because you did so. Can I say that what you did was right or wrong in this particular situation? No I can’t, there’s just not enough info. BUT, if it really bothered you to be asked to do something, you can say no. As long as it’s not one of those things where you throw the “moral principles” or “religious beliefs” out there often, it shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[Catholic2003]

Almeria:

I really need this job, and my superiors should really know better.

You should consider the possibility that your superiors just don’t know any better. Chances are they weren’t put in their position due to their legal knowledge.

Just document what the law is, and inform them. If you have any suggestions as to how to proceed within the law, include those as well.

Good luck!

 

[Scott_Waddell]

Catholic2003:

You should consider the possibility that your superiors just don’t know any better. Chances are they weren’t put in their position due to their legal knowledge.

Just document what the law is, and inform them. If you have any suggestions as to how to proceed within the law, include those as well.

Good luck!

If that is the case they may even be grateful to you from helping the company avoid a legal landmine. Do they have a legal department?

Scott

 

[StephanieC]

“If the 3rd party uses that information, it would be in violation of at least one state law that I know of, and I think federal law as well. I believe the act of giving or selling this information to a 3rd party is also illegal, but I do not know that for a fact.”

I think that you should be sure you have researched all of the applicable facts, first. Can you run the general scenario by your Dept. of Labor, and ask for documented resource/legal citations?

Are your superiors asking you do do something they know is wrong, or could they be ignorant of the law?

All too often, I make the mistake of assuming that just because someone holds a position superior to mine, that means that they must know more–not so! Maybe you can find a way to point out the discrepancies you have found, with an attitude of, “I don’t know if you realized this, but…” and also provide an alternative solution to help them save face.

Don’t forget to document, document, document! (All face to face conversations, phone calls, memos, e-mails etc…just to cover yourself)

Good luck~

StephanieC

 

[Almeria]

They are familiar with the laws–I’ve pointed these specific ones out to them before, and their phrasing of the initial request and followup questions prove they know it’s wrong (sorry I can’t be more specific). Thankfully, they are backing off. It’s a good thing when delay tactics can stall a difficult decision until after a deadline. I am ready to call the Catholic League and other law centers if my boss continues to push. I can’t imagine that it’s legal to ask an employee to break the law…

 

[StephanieC]

I appreciate that you can’t be more specific on this board…hopefully, as you say, the deadline will pass w/o incident. I think I would still contact whatever regulatory body is in place for the specific industry & make sure I have all my “ducks in a row” re: the law & it’s application to this situation. Good luck to you, Almeria!