A licensed professional is moonlighting after-hours and providing services in the same professional capacity as those provided to their primary…

Moonlighting, or engaging in outside practice, is permissible but requires careful management to avoid conflicts of interest. The most critical step is full disclosure to all relevant parties. The professional has a duty of loyalty to their primary employer. Therefore, they must inform their primary employer of the outside work and obtain consent. This ensures transparency and allows the employer to assess any potential conflicts of interest, such as competing with the employer or using the employer's time and resources. Without such agreement, the professional's actions would be unethical.

A. This is incorrect. Moonlighting is permitted under specific ethical conditions, primarily involving disclosure and consent.

C. Using one's primary employment to gain an unfair advantage in outside work is a clear conflict of interest and is unethical.

D. Using a primary employer's resources (e.g., software, equipment, confidential information) for personal gain or outside work is unethical and often illegal.

1. Andrews, G. C. (2019). Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience: Practice and Ethics (6th ed.). Nelson. (Chapter 3, Section 3.3, "Conflict of Interest").

2. Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA). (2022). Guideline: Conflicts of Interest. (Section 4.2, "Outside Practice (Moonlighting)").

3. Marston, D. L. (2019). Law for Professional Engineers (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill Ryerson. (Chapter 23, discussing the duty of fidelity to the employer).