Can I ethically/legally refuse to work with a client who acts in violation of my personal ethics?
November 1, 2010 8:03 AM Subscribe
Ethical dilemma at work: I work for a Fortune500 technology company, and one of my responsibilities is to assist with designing solutions for customers with complex requirements. The company is currently finalizing a very large deal with an organization that is well known for funding campaigns aimed at discrimination against a certain group of people, and I am being asked to design a solution for them. As a member of the group being discriminated against, I am understandably very reluctant to get involved in this deal in any way. I happen to know that my immediate supervisor's political views is such that he likely wholeheartedly agrees with the customer's stance in this matter. Do I have any ethical and/or legal grounds for refusing to deal with this customer, and, if so, how do I go about it without jeopardizing my career?
It's at best a long shot, but you could have some legal recourse, if the company is discriminating against a protected group. However, even it would probably involve a legal battle and end your association with your own company.
A better solution might be to point out to someone above your boss (assuming he/she is a mid-level ish manager and not CEO) that helping a hate mongering group would generate a lot of bad PR for your company. In other words make the case that it would be a bad business decision to work with these people.
posted by oddman at 8:19 AM on November 1, 2010
A better solution might be to point out to someone above your boss (assuming he/she is a mid-level ish manager and not CEO) that helping a hate mongering group would generate a lot of bad PR for your company. In other words make the case that it would be a bad business decision to work with these people.
posted by oddman at 8:19 AM on November 1, 2010
I'm not exactly clear as to the nature of the solution - is it a solution where one of the requirements is to further the discrimination, or just a normal solution for a company who also happens to fund the discrimination?
If it's the latter, it seems like this is going to be a problematic issue in the future as there will probably be a lot of those Fortune 500 companies funding the same sorts of things. (I'm guessing either racism or homophobia.) I don't see how you can reasonably get out of doing *all* of them, while still retaining your job. If it's a one-off case, you can appeal to your supervisor's best nature and/or call in favors, but if it's going to be more along the lines of 20-50% of the clients (anyone who funds right wing exclusionary anything), how is that going to work? That would be a pretty substantial number of people to be refusing to work for, and I'm not sure I see any legal grounds for doing so (IANAL). The only possible way I could see that you wouldn't get fired would be if you were somehow declining on religious grounds, as that seems to work for the pharmacists who don't want to dispense birth control pills.
posted by wending my way at 8:28 AM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
If it's the latter, it seems like this is going to be a problematic issue in the future as there will probably be a lot of those Fortune 500 companies funding the same sorts of things. (I'm guessing either racism or homophobia.) I don't see how you can reasonably get out of doing *all* of them, while still retaining your job. If it's a one-off case, you can appeal to your supervisor's best nature and/or call in favors, but if it's going to be more along the lines of 20-50% of the clients (anyone who funds right wing exclusionary anything), how is that going to work? That would be a pretty substantial number of people to be refusing to work for, and I'm not sure I see any legal grounds for doing so (IANAL). The only possible way I could see that you wouldn't get fired would be if you were somehow declining on religious grounds, as that seems to work for the pharmacists who don't want to dispense birth control pills.
posted by wending my way at 8:28 AM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you want to choose what projects to will and won't accept, corporate America is not right for you. Time to start consulting.
Look at it this way: I assume you believe in free speech. If you don't donate to the ACLU, I bet you support their actions. But the ACLU often defends bigots and otherwise horrible people. Why? Because even monsters have the right to express their ideas in America. We generally think it's noble when Law & Order has a jewish lawyer defending an anti-semite, or a black lawyer defending a white supremacist.
So you'll be helping someone exercise their free speech even though you disagree with it. How noble of you! (Don't worry about billing that extra overtime or large travel expenses to meet with the client :)
posted by sbutler at 8:28 AM on November 1, 2010 [14 favorites]
Look at it this way: I assume you believe in free speech. If you don't donate to the ACLU, I bet you support their actions. But the ACLU often defends bigots and otherwise horrible people. Why? Because even monsters have the right to express their ideas in America. We generally think it's noble when Law & Order has a jewish lawyer defending an anti-semite, or a black lawyer defending a white supremacist.
So you'll be helping someone exercise their free speech even though you disagree with it. How noble of you! (Don't worry about billing that extra overtime or large travel expenses to meet with the client :)
posted by sbutler at 8:28 AM on November 1, 2010 [14 favorites]
I see three courses for you:
1) Point out, gently and always with your company's interests in mind, that someone else from within the company who is not in the ethnic group in question will be able to participate more wholeheartedly and creatively in the project. If possible, have someone in mind who you know will do a good job on the project, who will be enthusiastic about it and welcome the opportunity, and make a point-by-point case why that person is a better fit. Have another project in mind for yourself. In other words, make it obvious that following your suggestions here is the best course of action.
2) Do the project, but be at peace with the idea that you probably won't do a good job -- or that you will do a good job, but come up with some kind of justification for yourself.
3) Look for other work, possibly in a position where you will be promoting the interests of this ethnic group. You have a great story to tell a potential employer, and it should help you a lot.
posted by amtho at 8:40 AM on November 1, 2010
1) Point out, gently and always with your company's interests in mind, that someone else from within the company who is not in the ethnic group in question will be able to participate more wholeheartedly and creatively in the project. If possible, have someone in mind who you know will do a good job on the project, who will be enthusiastic about it and welcome the opportunity, and make a point-by-point case why that person is a better fit. Have another project in mind for yourself. In other words, make it obvious that following your suggestions here is the best course of action.
2) Do the project, but be at peace with the idea that you probably won't do a good job -- or that you will do a good job, but come up with some kind of justification for yourself.
3) Look for other work, possibly in a position where you will be promoting the interests of this ethnic group. You have a great story to tell a potential employer, and it should help you a lot.
posted by amtho at 8:40 AM on November 1, 2010
I've worked for agencies and had to support companies and projects I disagreed with.
When I was very junior at a small firm, I just did a terrible job and convinced them that a solution I knew would not work was the right one. This didn't hurt my career, but I still regret it on multiple fronts. Don't do this.
When I was a little more mature (not by much), I asked to not be on a particular project. I focused on the other projects in the office at the time and said I'd be willing to do X, Y and Z on those projects rather than X on the problematic one. My boss didn't ask me why, but I think he got it. I only did this twice -- I think professionally you only get one or two of these and it will hurt your boss's perception of you.
If you're going to regularly be in conflict, change jobs.
I now work in-house for a company that owns its own factories, pays its workers fairly, doesn't kill the environment and makes things that people want that doesn't give them cancer...
posted by Gucky at 8:41 AM on November 1, 2010
When I was very junior at a small firm, I just did a terrible job and convinced them that a solution I knew would not work was the right one. This didn't hurt my career, but I still regret it on multiple fronts. Don't do this.
When I was a little more mature (not by much), I asked to not be on a particular project. I focused on the other projects in the office at the time and said I'd be willing to do X, Y and Z on those projects rather than X on the problematic one. My boss didn't ask me why, but I think he got it. I only did this twice -- I think professionally you only get one or two of these and it will hurt your boss's perception of you.
If you're going to regularly be in conflict, change jobs.
I now work in-house for a company that owns its own factories, pays its workers fairly, doesn't kill the environment and makes things that people want that doesn't give them cancer...
posted by Gucky at 8:41 AM on November 1, 2010
Mod note: folks, please don't guess what he OP is referring to, I'm sure this question is anonymous for a reason, thanks
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:11 AM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:11 AM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Without any further information, I think it's very unlikely that you have any legal right both to hold onto your job and refuse the client's work.
posted by Mr. Justice at 9:12 AM on November 1, 2010
posted by Mr. Justice at 9:12 AM on November 1, 2010
Your job is NOT your career. You can continue it elsewhere.
posted by MikeWarot at 9:13 AM on November 1, 2010
posted by MikeWarot at 9:13 AM on November 1, 2010
Unfortunately, I think the only ethical course is to either do the best job you can, or refuse and quit. Were you the owner or president of this company, you might be in a position to turn down work you didn't want (unless it was a public company), but that's not the case here. As distasteful as it might be, I think you're in a similar situation as a Christinaist pharmacist who thinks they shouldn't have to dispense plan B; you need to do what you've been hired to do.
It could be worse, you know. You could be in marketing and having to actually write the pitches for these guys.
posted by Gilbert at 9:19 AM on November 1, 2010
It could be worse, you know. You could be in marketing and having to actually write the pitches for these guys.
posted by Gilbert at 9:19 AM on November 1, 2010
There's probably no way to get out of it, especially considering you have a direct boss who is not likely to be sympathetic to your concerns.
Give the account the attention it requires, no more no less, and if it is within your budget, donate the amount you earned working on the objectionable assignment to a charity that works against your client's interests.
posted by contessa at 9:22 AM on November 1, 2010 [4 favorites]
Give the account the attention it requires, no more no less, and if it is within your budget, donate the amount you earned working on the objectionable assignment to a charity that works against your client's interests.
posted by contessa at 9:22 AM on November 1, 2010 [4 favorites]
If one of these pro-discrimination campaigns is not directly involved here, and it's just that the client might theoretically use the solution you'd provide in the course of conducting a pro-discrimination campaign, it does seem that it will be difficult to arrive at a direct justification to refuse to work on the project. I like contessa's suggestion to go without any financial benefit from the project and instead make a donation.
posted by XMLicious at 9:35 AM on November 1, 2010
posted by XMLicious at 9:35 AM on November 1, 2010
As others have said, chances are you can't wiggle your way out of this one unless you were a freelancer who can pick and choose projects. Separate your self from the work at hand and just complete the project as you would any other.
posted by Anima Mundi at 9:37 AM on November 1, 2010
posted by Anima Mundi at 9:37 AM on November 1, 2010
Depends where you live. If rights for your oppressed group are protected, then being asked to create content that is in opposition could be discriminatory. Otherwise, it's likely legal for them to assign this work. You could do the work in a way that respects your dignity, "Some people think it's acceptable for golf players to wear brightly colored, strongly-patterned pants. We think it's a bad idea, because it's distracting for other players; and here's some independent research that supports our cause." and not their way "Golfers in Hideous pants are an abomination against Baal, and their wearers will be condemned to a fiery eternity" until they fire you, and then contest the firing, at least enough to get Unemployment.
Please don't keep the job, and sell out your oppressed minority. I admire you for asking the ethical question, and I think you will be unhappy if you act against your own ethical beliefs.
posted by theora55 at 9:46 AM on November 1, 2010
Please don't keep the job, and sell out your oppressed minority. I admire you for asking the ethical question, and I think you will be unhappy if you act against your own ethical beliefs.
posted by theora55 at 9:46 AM on November 1, 2010
As a member of the group being discriminated against, I am understandably very reluctant to get involved in this deal in any way.
As long as you draw a paycheck from your company, you are involved in this deal, even if you're not directly involved in the immediate transaction. Why? Because the profit your company is making from this partnership is helping to pay the bills, including the bill for you.
I have been in your situation, working for a small nonprofit in partnership with a large donor who wanted to finance one part of our work but was diametrically opposed to other aspects of our mission. In the end, what worked best was to be very open and proud of who we were and what we stood for. Its personal contact over time that changes minds.
My advice to you is this: As long as the project isn't actually asking to you to discriminate against yourself (ie: creating advertising against same sex marriage if you're gay) but rather is just doing computer work (or whatever) for a company that happens to also support discrimination - just do your work, be who you are, be proud of who you are, do the best job you can do but also be honest if the topic comes up. Its these kinds of transactions that do the most to change minds.
posted by anastasiav at 9:53 AM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
As long as you draw a paycheck from your company, you are involved in this deal, even if you're not directly involved in the immediate transaction. Why? Because the profit your company is making from this partnership is helping to pay the bills, including the bill for you.
I have been in your situation, working for a small nonprofit in partnership with a large donor who wanted to finance one part of our work but was diametrically opposed to other aspects of our mission. In the end, what worked best was to be very open and proud of who we were and what we stood for. Its personal contact over time that changes minds.
My advice to you is this: As long as the project isn't actually asking to you to discriminate against yourself (ie: creating advertising against same sex marriage if you're gay) but rather is just doing computer work (or whatever) for a company that happens to also support discrimination - just do your work, be who you are, be proud of who you are, do the best job you can do but also be honest if the topic comes up. Its these kinds of transactions that do the most to change minds.
posted by anastasiav at 9:53 AM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
Anastasiav has it - money is fungible. You're ethically involved anyway.
posted by downing street memo at 10:04 AM on November 1, 2010
posted by downing street memo at 10:04 AM on November 1, 2010
This is a really complex legal, ethical, and practical problem. If I were you, I'd contact an employment lawyer to fully understand my legal rights and possible consequences and outcomes. That way, you can better assess the risks and benefits of each course of action.
posted by yarly at 10:11 AM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by yarly at 10:11 AM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
My cynical side wants to tell you that unless you are the top person at the company, nobody cares what you think or how you feel. They only care if you do what you are told or not. Your opionions and ethics are dictated by the company.
There is no way to go about this anonymously (and since you feel strongly about the issue, you probably don't want to be anonymous), so everyone will know your personal opinons/feelings about the issue and how far against company wishes you are willing to go. It will probably be viewed as making work personal, and you as unprofessional.
The other side of me wants to tell you to fight the power even if it takes everything you have. Do everything you can to tell the company, your workmates, and the world in general what you think of the decision. Since that is impractical I'll suggest trying to find a company that is a better fit with your ethics and beliefs. Dealing with financial and professional realities always involves some personal negotiation with your ethics; compromise is almost always necessary.
posted by variella at 10:58 AM on November 1, 2010
There is no way to go about this anonymously (and since you feel strongly about the issue, you probably don't want to be anonymous), so everyone will know your personal opinons/feelings about the issue and how far against company wishes you are willing to go. It will probably be viewed as making work personal, and you as unprofessional.
The other side of me wants to tell you to fight the power even if it takes everything you have. Do everything you can to tell the company, your workmates, and the world in general what you think of the decision. Since that is impractical I'll suggest trying to find a company that is a better fit with your ethics and beliefs. Dealing with financial and professional realities always involves some personal negotiation with your ethics; compromise is almost always necessary.
posted by variella at 10:58 AM on November 1, 2010
I see this as similar to the issue of pharmacists refusing to fill certain prescriptions on moral/ethical grounds or teachers refusing to teach evolution.
If you admire their stance then by all means refuse the work, whatever the cost. If, on the other hand, you think all professionals should put their profession first and keep their personal feelings out of the workplace, then take the job, do it well, and donate some of what you earn to a worthy cause.
posted by rocket88 at 11:31 AM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you admire their stance then by all means refuse the work, whatever the cost. If, on the other hand, you think all professionals should put their profession first and keep their personal feelings out of the workplace, then take the job, do it well, and donate some of what you earn to a worthy cause.
posted by rocket88 at 11:31 AM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Do you have ethical grounds for refusing to do something that is contradictory to your values? Obviously you do. But whether you can do that without detriment to your career is a separate question though.
Since you work in a very large technology company, my guess would be that they have plenty of work that is not going to be an ethical problem for you, and the types of client you'd feel unable to work for are relatively few and far between. So I'd guess that through talking to your boss, higher level management or HR, you can make it known that working with client X is a real problem for you, and you are willing to take on any other job to avoid that.
As long as your values are only going to exclude a very small number of clients, this doesn't need to have much, if any, impact on your career.
If your company actually does a lot of work for clients that you have issues with then you probably need to find another company to work for, or at least another division of your own company.
As for legal grounds... we don't know what exactly the client org does, what the project you're doing is for, or what jurisdiction you are in. However if the proposed project is legal to actually do then it's unlikely you will have any legal grounds for refusing to participate.
Of course any smart business, and Fortune 500 tech companies are generally smart businesses with lots of smart people, would understand that if there is any reasonable alternative it's preferable not to use people on projects they will absolutely hate. In fact, don't underestimate the number of people in your company that would admire your speaking up on such an issue.
Given all that, the way to frame this in your discussions with management or HR might be something like: "What client X does is deeply contradictory to my values, and I have a big problem working with them. If you really need me to I will, but is there any alternative assignment I could do?"
If you feel that there is really no way you could work with the client and keep your self respect, then leave out the "if you really need me to I will" part.
posted by philipy at 12:20 PM on November 1, 2010
Since you work in a very large technology company, my guess would be that they have plenty of work that is not going to be an ethical problem for you, and the types of client you'd feel unable to work for are relatively few and far between. So I'd guess that through talking to your boss, higher level management or HR, you can make it known that working with client X is a real problem for you, and you are willing to take on any other job to avoid that.
As long as your values are only going to exclude a very small number of clients, this doesn't need to have much, if any, impact on your career.
If your company actually does a lot of work for clients that you have issues with then you probably need to find another company to work for, or at least another division of your own company.
As for legal grounds... we don't know what exactly the client org does, what the project you're doing is for, or what jurisdiction you are in. However if the proposed project is legal to actually do then it's unlikely you will have any legal grounds for refusing to participate.
Of course any smart business, and Fortune 500 tech companies are generally smart businesses with lots of smart people, would understand that if there is any reasonable alternative it's preferable not to use people on projects they will absolutely hate. In fact, don't underestimate the number of people in your company that would admire your speaking up on such an issue.
Given all that, the way to frame this in your discussions with management or HR might be something like: "What client X does is deeply contradictory to my values, and I have a big problem working with them. If you really need me to I will, but is there any alternative assignment I could do?"
If you feel that there is really no way you could work with the client and keep your self respect, then leave out the "if you really need me to I will" part.
posted by philipy at 12:20 PM on November 1, 2010
I worked at an advertising agency that had a beverage alcohol company as a major client. One of my colleagues was a girl who did not drink, and had a lot of negative feelings about alcohol in general. She asked not to work on the alcohol stuff anymore. In the hierarchy of the agency, she had very little power, but she was well-liked and otherwise worked hard, and her request was granted.
Sure, upper management obviously had no problem with alcohol. But they didn't see it as their responsibility to teach her politics and morals. They simply looked at their resources, realized that business could still move forward if she worked on something else, and went with it.
Good managers recognize that it's not productive to have someone working on something that they don't believe in, especially when there are other options.
So my advice to you is this: find out if you are working at a place governed by a similar attitude. And if you aren't, then quit.
posted by bingo at 12:57 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Sure, upper management obviously had no problem with alcohol. But they didn't see it as their responsibility to teach her politics and morals. They simply looked at their resources, realized that business could still move forward if she worked on something else, and went with it.
Good managers recognize that it's not productive to have someone working on something that they don't believe in, especially when there are other options.
So my advice to you is this: find out if you are working at a place governed by a similar attitude. And if you aren't, then quit.
posted by bingo at 12:57 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Seconding Bingo, people are reasonable; pull your boss aside and ask, gently, if you could perhaps work on another project because you feel very uncomfortable with this particular one. If you're boss is shit, go up the chain till you get to someone who isn't shit. They may tell you to suck it up, but they will definitely at least consider it.
posted by smoke at 3:58 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by smoke at 3:58 PM on November 1, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Legally? Although IANAL, I don't see how you keep your job if you refuse the assignment if the company really wants or needs you to work on it.
posted by inturnaround at 8:09 AM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]