This guy is so over the top dishonest. He only is physically in the office about 7 hours a day then goes for an hour lunch, yet consistently bills 8 hours a day. And the time he is at the office, he is online, on the phone, texting, etc... It is really irritating because it looks like he will receive a bonus related to his hours.
The billing partners are either oblivious to the true hours this person is in the office and working, or don't care because they make money off of this dishonesty. Ever hour this person bills is money in their pocket. I think they know what is going on.
Is there anything I should do about this? Who would you report something like this to? What kind of penalities would this person/the firm face?
Thanks
2007-08-19 16:04:39 · 5 answers · asked by annsd 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Unfortunately, this practice is fairly common in many professional firms. The partners may stand up and publicly say that they don't approve of this practice, but in reality, they probably think that this guy is a hero.
You are really in a no win situation. If you complain to the management, they may do something to appease you, but you will probably be pegged as a "whistle-blower" and your career may be limited.
You could probably complain to a regulatory agency, but this will do nothing for you personally and it is likely that the firm will get away without being charged with any wrongdoing. Unless the over-billing is terribly egregious, its tough to prove.
For example, how do you know that when your coworker is on line or texting he is actually not doing this related to the case he is working on? How do you know that he didn't spend a couple of hours at home working on the case in the morning before he came into the office? He can claim that this is how he came up with 8 hours of billable time and it will be nearly impossible for you to prove otherwise.
I commend you for your honesty, but I think in this case, you either have to decide to ignore the practice or quit and move on to another job. I not saying that this is right or moral but I think that it is reality.
2007-08-19 22:00:24 · answer #1 · answered by silvaconsultants 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Report the dishonest behavior within the company first, in hopes that the company will take corrective action.
Then you have to decide whether you want to be a whistle blower, and report this to law enforcement. If you do so, you could lose your job, and be black listed from other similar work in the future.
Perhaps you can find a way to report the crime anonymously.
2007-08-19 17:36:36 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you can live with this--and let
it continue, then you are also
guilty to the illegal activities.
It might cost you your job, but
go to the highest official in
the company, if you have to,
barge in unnanounced. Tell
noone else what you are
about to do, so they can check his records before charging him with any crime.
If this is a stock brokerage,
this is a federal offence.
2007-08-19 16:23:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
CA Business and Professions Code calls that fraud and is punishable by up to 1 year in either county or state custody. Every state has their code online.
You might want to consider long term ramifications if you intend to stay.
2007-08-19 16:26:36 · answer #4 · answered by Stand-up philosopher. It's good to be the King 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you can prove it rat him out.
2007-08-19 16:12:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋