ABSTRACT
You are a successful project manager at Early Environmental Advice (EEA), a consulting firm with national accounts with several major manufacturers. You are assigned to manage environmental compliance audits at several plants of Crown Industries, Inc. (CII), a large company. The contract is being conducted under legal counsel and the results are to be handled in order to maintain confidentiality under the law. At one plant, you discover the release of a toxic chemical that you are certain threatens public health. You contact the CII attorney, Paul, who ordered the study and report your findings. Paul directs you to stop work at that site, move on to another plant, and not submit your findings in writing. You point out the need to report this to the responsible agency, Paul reminds you of the contract, which provides for the confidentiality of the findings. You are told that his staff will handle any reporting and warned that this information and your conversations are to be kept confidential. “Do not discuss it with anyone! If I need any additional information, I will ask for it. Take your team and go on to the next plant on the list.” Your attempts to learn how Paul plans to proceed on this information are met with, “It is not your concern. You do your job [i.e., investigate] and I will do mine. If I need any additional information, I will ask for it.”
