Wiley Jackson spent three months as an audit intern with a local practice office of a major accounting firm while he was earning an undergraduate accounting degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.1 Wiley thoroughly enjoyed the three-month internship. He made several friends and, more importantly, gained valuable work experience and insight into the nature and work environment of independent auditing.
On the final day of his internship, Wiley had an exit interview with the office managing partner (OMP). The OMP told Wiley that he had impressed his superiors and coworkers. Wiley's performance reviews indicated that he had strong technical and interpersonal skills and always conducted himself in a professional and ethical manner. At the end of the exit interview, the OMP offered Wiley a full-time position with the firm once he completed his master's degree in accounting at UWM. Wiley was thrilled by the offer and accepted it immediately.
While working on his graduate degree, Wiley received a packet of documents from his future employer that he was to complete and return. The packet contained standard insurance forms, 401(k) elections, a W-4 form, a personal investments worksheet for independence-compliance purposes, and a "Statement of Arrests and Convictions" form. Wiley recalled having completed an earlier version of the latter document before beginning his internship. Among the questions included in this form was the following:
Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor (excluding minor traffic violations) or a felony, or driving while intoxicated in this or any other state, or are criminal charges currently pending against you?
The form required a full explanation if this question was answered "Yes." Wiley had previously responded "No" to this question because, at the time, he had a "clean" record, except for a few parking tickets and one speeding violation. But now, as he sat at his desk staring at the form, he was not sure how to respond to the question.
After completing his internship, Wiley had been invited to a graduation party at an off-campus location. Although he was not a "party animal," Wiley had decided to accept the invitation since it would likely be his final opportunity to see many of his friends who were graduating from UWM. When he arrived at the site of the party, Wiley was surprised by the large number of people there. In fact, because the older, two-story home could not accommodate all the partygoers, several dozen of them were congregated in the front yard and on the residential street on which the house was located.
As he made his way through the boisterous crowd, Wiley suddenly came face to face with Sally Jones. Sally, a UWM alumna, had been the audit senior assigned to Wiley's largest client during his internship. While Wiley was talking to Sally, an acquaintance thrust a cold beer into his hand and slapped him on the shoulder. "No talking business here, Dude. It's party time!" As luck would have it, just a few minutes later, the party was "busted" by the local police. Before Wiley realized exactly what was happening, a policeman approached him and asked for his I.D. As he handed over his driver's license, Wiley, who was three days short of his 21st birthday, realized that he was in trouble. Moments later, the stone-faced policeman began writing out a minor-in-possession citation. The citation ordered Wiley to appear before a local judge the following month.
Wiley was distraught and had a difficult time sleeping that night. The next morning, he called an attorney and told him what had happened. The attorney informed Wiley that he had dealt with many similar situations involving college students and that Wiley should not be "stressed out" by the incident. For first-time offenders, like Wiley, the attorney had always been successful in persuading a judge to approve
"deferred adjudication." As long as Wiley stayed out of trouble over the following two years, the minor-in-possession charge would be expunged from his record, "just like it never happened," according to the attorney.
Questions
1. Place yourself in Wiley's position. How would you respond to the "Arrests and Convictions" question? Before responding, identify the decision alternatives available to you.
2. Suppose that Wiley does not disclose the citation he received. A few weeks after going to work for his new employer, Wiley is called into the OMP's office.
The OMP tells Wiley that he recently learned of the minor-in-possession citation that Wiley had been given. The OMP then hands Wiley a copy of the Arrest and Convictions form that he completed after receiving the job offer from the firm. How should the OMP deal with this matter? How, if at all, should Wiley be disciplined? Defend your answer.
3. Assume that Sally Jones was the individual who told the OMP that Wiley had been given a police citation at the graduation party. Do you believe Sally had a moral or ethical responsibility to inform the OMP of that matter? Why or why not?