I refused to do something I thought was immoral, and might trigger an employee’s suicide.
I was being pressured by lawyers, but calmly said I was not comfortable doing it. They were not happy, but backed down. I was lucky that my boss had my back (he did not pressure me). You have to live with yourself. And the consequences. A high stakes thing you could do is go to the IG. But that can be risky. (Try my line:in front of a witness, say you are not comfortable taking the action.) |
This is bad advice for a fed, maybe works in the private sector but in fed if they go forward with their plan and op does not alert the compliance auditor she will be derelict since she was made aware. It’s not sufficient that she advised against it. She has to report it. Op I would make it clear you would be mandated to report it and im sorry because it sounds like they will find a way to get rid of you. |
A nonprofit I worked at wanted to copy an article they were mentioned in and distribute it to prospective donors. I was sent to FedEx to make copies (1000 or so) and they said they couldn’t do it because it violated copyright laws. They then wanted me to go to UPS or something like that and when I wouldn’t, and they tried to send someone else, and the next place refused I think they decided just not to include it in their publicity materials. They tried asking me to just use in-house copy machines and I said I wasn’t comfortable with that. They weren’t happy with me, but I didn’t want the company that wrote the article to come after my nonprofit and them to go after me. |
My former boss filed a false insurance claim and let a client believe they are still an active member of the bar, when in fact they are inactive. I quit. |
Are you aware of any instance in which a federal employee who was aware of an "unethical" act done by others, but who did not report it, incurred any type of disciplinary action? Because it never happened. There is a reason people are not required to identify themselves when reporting something to the OIG. Also, not all "unethical" conduct is "fraud, waste, and abuse." |
The poster who mentioned was not a Fed and neither am I. In fact I would argue not ethical to not get best price. I have seen bids where did not like lowest bid refuse and restart bidding or tell everyone lowest bid. No different getting three bids in new kitchen. The govt is not real world |
I was told it was quid pro quo to share bids with other applicants (umm, no its not). I refused to do it, explained why, and would have quit had they forced me to. Fortunately, they backed down |
Just following (illegal) orders is not an excuse in the federal service. We take an oath. If you know you’re being asked to do something illegal, you are obligated to report it. Registering your reasons for not complying with the order, to your supervisor or others, gives you whistleblower protection against retaliation. You say no, not doing it, and that’s that. But, it’s not fun. And honestly I wouldn’t go this route unless it was CLEARLY illegal. |
This. Have your supervisor ask the lawyers. That should take care of things. |
I was a Fed on detail in a very high level role and outright quit when I was asked to do something I considered to be unethical and counter to my professional values. I quit both the detail and my permanent position. My spouse has a high paying job though, so the decision was much easier than it would have been otherwise. |
I'm a lawyer. Questions of ethics come up with some regularity. Know what your values are, and do nothing that contradicts them. It sounds like leadership has your back, but if they didn't: I'd rather do the right thing and lose a job because other people aren't on the up-and-up, than do the wrong thing at the direction of others and keep the good job. You need to know who you are. |
Sadly, I have seen this issue also. It didn't end well. |
I'm a teacher. I was asked to not report child abuse. I reported it anyway. |
I don't break procedural rules, but the fact someone is frustrated with a procedural rule doesn't mean the request is unethical. The thing he wants to do (reimbursement, in OP's example) may be permitted under another process, or the agency may have the authority to revise or waive the process OP administers. If that's the case, accusations of unethical behavior needlessly escalate the situation and distract from actual violations that need to be taken seriously. |
One time I worked at the DC OAG's office and my supervisor tried to get me to file a case that did not have merit. I declined but said if that supervisor wanted to personally bring the case, he/she could. The case was never filed and I kept my job. |