The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) solicited bids to repaint the Commodore Barry Bridge, a mile-long structure spanning the Delaware River between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Alpha Painting & Construction Company, an experienced contractor that had previously worked for the DRPA, submitted the lowest bid. Under DRPA guidelines, a “responsible” contractor has the “capacity” and “capability” to do a certain job. A “responsive” contractor includes all required documents with its bid. Alpha’s bid did not include certain required accident and insurance data. For this reason, and without checking further, the DRPA declared that Alpha was “not responsible” and awarded the contract to the second-lowest bidder. [Alpha Painting & Construction Co. v. Delaware River Port Authority, 853 F.3d 671 (3d Cir. 2017)] (See Agency Creation and Powers.) 

(a) Using the Inquiry step of the IDDR approach, identify the ethical issue the DRPA faced when deciding whether to accept or reject Alpha’s bid. 

(b) Using the Discussion step of the IDDR approach, consider whether the DRPA’s rejection of Alpha was ethical.