Case 11: You Punch Mine and I’ll Punch Yours
1. What are the ethical issues in this case?
The primary ethical issue in this case is billing for hours not worked. Ancillary ethical issues
ethical issues.
2. What should I have done in this situation?
The speaker should refuse to go along with this scheme. First, it is cheating, billing for time not
worked, and is a form of stealing. Second, the consequences of taking this action, if discovered,
could have devastating consequences for the speaker. If she is fired for this kind of conduct, no
3. Should I have confronted my roommate? What should I have said?
4. Should I have gone to management and told them what happened? If I did nothing I would be
paid for an hour that I did not work.
There are really two parts to this question. First, the speaker could decide that she does not want
the extra hour of pay, and so must correct the records. But how to do that? She should talk to her
roommate, and suggest she could cover the error by explaining that her time card was punched