14

Santa in the Summer

(Case 1024)

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The Case:

Rod Traverse is a civil engineering student at a well-known university in the mid-west. Because he did well in his surveying course during his junior year, he is working for the summer before his senior year for the state Department of Transportation (DOT) on a road construction project 140 miles from his hometown. His duties include working closely with the state's on-site resident engineer, Jim Upwright and several other state highway construction engineers for the project. Ethel Hicks (known to her friends as “Eth”) is Upwright’s supervisor at the DOT headquarters and visits the site every couple of weeks to see how the project is progressing.

Every Friday afternoon about 4:00 p.m., Rod and the DOT engineers get into their cars or trucks to drive home for the weekend. Since he works a good bit of the time reducing survey data and keeping records in the state's construction trailer, Rod has noticed individual foremen for the three separate bridge contractors working on the project putting a box or other article in the back of the resident engineer's pickup truck about 3:30 p.m. on most Fridays. These boxes and articles have included a new set of tires, a mountain bike, a case of Duggan's Dew o’ Kirkintilloch Scotch whiskey, and a shotgun.

There are several more bridge structures to be designed and built under another contract for the project. Upwright will be asked to make comments and give recommendations regarding the three bridge contractors presently on the project, if they show interest in obtaining the additional work.

Since Rod's work is part of a summer credit course program at the university, Upwright will also be required to communicate with Rod's advisor at school (Dr. R. E. Serchur) and recommend an appropriate grade for Rod’s summer work course.

Under the circumstances, is Rod obligated to say anything about the gifts to anyone, and if so, to whom and when?

Alternate Approaches for “Santa in the Summer” (Case 1024)

1. Rod is only a summer hire and should keep his nose out of things that are none of his business. He has heard that things like this happen on some construction projects. The last thing he wants is to jeopardize his chances for a good grade in the summer work course, which could impact his job opportunities the following spring when he graduates.

2. Rod should contact his faculty advisor, R. E. Serchur, over the weekend and ask for his advice about the most appropriate course of action, if any, he should take.

3. Rod should approach one of the bridge contractor foremen to try to clarify the facts of the situation through them, before confronting Upwright (perhaps the items in the pickup truck were intended for charity or they may be purchasing items that Upwright wants at a discount and Upwright is reimbursing them for the cost of each item).

4. Rod should send an anonymous letter to “Eth” Hicks in guise of a taxpayer who frequently observes things on the project, and has noted the apparent transfer of gifts from contractor personnel to a pickup truck with a license plate number that coincides with that of Upwright’s pickup. The letter should suggest that these actions appear improper and should be looked into.

5. Rod should discretely inquire of someone in the DOT who is not connected with the project what the policy is with respect to DOT personnel accepting gifts from contractors. If it is against DOT policy, then Rod should blow the whistle to “Eth” Hicks.

6. Rod should ask Upwright directly about what has transpired with the contractors’ foremen and explain that while nothing wrong may be occurring, the appearance of impropriety exists to the casual observer.

7. Rod should approach one of the contractor’s foremen and mention how nice it would be to have a Bose Lifestyle 20 sound system to put in his fraternity room during the ensuing college year.

8. Rod should photograph the Friday gifts for a few weeks with dates, times and the license plate on Upwright’s pickup clearly visible. He should show Upwright copies of these photos, emphasizing how practical Rod’s summer job is, then suggest that his efforts surely deserve an A grade and a glowing recommendation for his university file.

9. Rod has no control over the situation. He should leave the construction project as soon as possible and take an incomplete in the summer work course, so that he won’t be included as part of the situation should anything happen (someone blows the whistle) before the summer has ended.