Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-14-.05

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 7, April 30, 2024

Section 330-X-14-.05 - Practice (Canon IV)

The engineer or land surveyor shall endeavor to build a practice and professional reputation on the merit of his services as follows:

(a) The engineer or land surveyor shall not offer, or promise to pay or deliver, directly or indirectly, any commission, political contribution, gift, favor, gratuity, benefit or reward as an inducement to secure any specific professional engineering or professional land surveying work or assignment; providing and excepting, however, that an engineer or land surveyor may pay a duly licensed employment agency its fee or commission for securing engineering or land surveying employment in a salaried position.

(b) The engineer or land surveyor shall not solicit professional employment by self-laudatory advertising, or in any manner contrary to high professional standards.

(c) Licensees shall not falsify or permit misrepresentation of their, or their associates, academic or professional qualifications. They shall not misrepresent or exaggerate their degree of responsibility in prior assignments nor the complexity of said assignments. Presentations incident to the solicitation of employment or business shall not misrepresent pertinent facts concerning employers, employees, associates, joint ventures, or past accomplishments.

(d) The engineer or land surveyor shall not supplant, nor attempt to supplant, directly or indirectly, another engineer or land surveyor in an ongoing engineering or land surveying project, after contracts have been awarded to such other engineer or land surveyor.

(e) The engineer or land surveyor shall not attempt to compete with another engineer or land surveyor for employment by reducing his or her usual charges or by the use of unethical practices.

(f) The engineer or land surveyor, shall not participate in or implement procurement practices based solely on fees except as allowed by State Law.

(1) Procurement practices shall first determine the qualifications of the engineer or land surveyor prior to entering into fee negotiations for services being sought. An engineer or land surveyor having submitted a statement of qualification and performance data, and having first been judged as the qualified individual or firm to provide the services required for the proposed project, may proceed to negotiate a contract with a client and establish compensation or fees for the required services.

(2) Should the engineer or land surveyor be unable to negotiate a satisfactory contract with the client for any reason, the engineer or land surveyor shall withdraw from further consideration for the engineering or land surveying services. Another engineer or land surveyor may then be selected for negotiations of a contract for the services on the stated project.

(3) Examples include but are not limited to, simultaneous negotiations or solicitation of fee proposals by the client from two or more engineers or land surveyors constitutes "bidding" and participation by a licensee is prohibited.

(g) The engineer or land surveyor shall perform his or her work in accordance with approval standards of practice and care and shall endeavor to adhere to all laws in effect in the jurisdiction in which he or she is practicing.

(h) Should the engineer or land surveyor be presented with a Certification to be signed, sealed and dated as summarized in Rule 330-X-11-.04 and defined in Rule 330-X-2-.01(7), he or she should carefully evaluate that Certification to determine if any of the circumstances set forth below would apply. The engineer or land surveyor who signs, seals and dates Certifications which:

(a) relate to matters which are beyond the engineer's or land surveyor's technical competence, or

(b) involve matters which are beyond the engineer's or land surveyor's scope of services actually provided, or

(c) relate to matters which were not prepared under the engineer's or land surveyor's responsible supervision, direction or control are subject to disciplinary action pursuant to Rule 330-X-16. If any of these circumstances would apply, the engineer or land surveyor shall either:

(a) modify the Certification to limit its scope to those matters which the engineer or land surveyor can properly sign, seal and date, or

(b) decline to sign the Certification.

(i) The engineer or land surveyor shall be completely objective, truthful, and shall include all relevant and pertinent information in all professional reports, statements or testimony.

(j) The engineer or land surveyor shall issue no statements, or criticisms or arguments on matters connected with public policy which are inspired or paid for by an interested party, or parties, unless he or she has prefaced his or her comments by explicitly identifying himself or herself, by disclosing the identities of the party, or parties, on whose behalf he or she is speaking, and by revealing the existence of any pecuniary interest he or she may have in the instant matter.

(k) Licensees shall notify their employer or client and such other authority as may be appropriate when their professional judgment or covenants of this Code of Ethics are overruled under circumstances where life, health, property, or welfare of the public is endangered.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-14-.05

Filed September 22, 1982. Amended: Filed November 14, 1984; September 15, 1987; March 5, 1990. Amended: Filed September 13, 1994; effective October 18, 1994. Amended: Filed September 23, 1998; effective October 28, 1998. Amended: Filed June 18, 2002; effective July 23, 2002. Amended: Filed April 29, 2003; effective June 3, 2003. Amended: Filed June 22, 2012; effective July 27, 2012.

Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XXXVII, Issue No. 02, November 30, 2018, eff. 12/31/2018.

Author: Rick Huett (Executive Director), Bonnie Kelly and Griffin Pritchard, Alabama State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, § 34-11-35.