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VW Emissions Scandal & Speaking Out

Jason Wong
A VW engineer has been sentenced to jail for his part in the scandal...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41053740


Although the court recognised that he was not the mastermind behind it they cited his failure to speak out as one of the reasons for imposing a harsher sentence. By my reckoning, if they are going to give this engineer a harsh sentence then a large number of other engineers and managers are also up for some significant jail time (don't forget VW are not the only car maker caught out by this). Don't forget that within just a single design/project team:
  • The initial requirements specification would have been signed off by multiple people.

  • The code would have likely been authored by more than one engineer.

  • The architecture and code would have been reviewed thoroughly and signed off by others who did not design or code it.

  • There would have been a final engineering sign off by the chief engineer and/or the technical director prior to release for production.

  • That is quite a number of people who could have spoken out but didn't (or they didn't do their jobs properly when reviewing and signing off)



My question is how many engineers (or non-engineers) wokring within a company have the confidence to speak out against something they feel is wrong or unethical without fear of retribution or even constructive dismissal?


I have so far only come across one employer (not directly automotive industry) that clearly has some explicit policies in place to encourage their people to feel that they can speak out and where retribution against an employee in any form is treated very seriously and could lead to dismissal. Clearly the emissions scandal is a wake up call for the automotive industry to change the way their companies operate. However, there is an opportunity for all companies with an engineering function to learn from this.


We all know that as engineers we have a duty to operate in an ethical manner but are we supported enough by engineering institutions globally to do that? What role can the engineering institutions and government play in helping to make it easier for engineers to speak up? Legal and government representation if an engineer is treated unfairly or even dismissed as a result of speaking out? What other tools could be made available to engineers by the engineering institutions (IET, Engineering Council, Royal Academy of Engineering, etc) to help them speak out more confidently without fear of retribution from their employer or line management?


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    As I understand the matter, he pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, to commit wire fraud and to violation of the federal Clean Air Act for his role in the implementation of so-called “defeat devices.”  These seem to be deliberate fraudulent acts by an individual and his co-conspirators and not merely a failure to report, ignorance or incompetence. 


    I'm not a lawyer, but from what I have read, along with his co-conspirators, he began developing a new diesel engine in 2006 with the purpose of creating a product to comply with heightened U.S. emissions regulations.  Liang and his co-conspirators sought not to design a compliant engine, but, instead, knowlingly developed a software enabled defeat device. The device was specifically designed to recognize when it was being subjected to U.S. emissions testing, as opposed to regular road driving.  Moreover, as some diesel vehicles began to age and have warranty claims related to emissions parts and components, Volkswagen introduced a software upgrade in 2014 that increased the precision of the defeat device, but was announced to consumers as a method to adjust the vehicle’s steering wheel angle.  In total, Liang helped facilitate the installation of diesel engines with defeat devices in approximately 500,000 Volkswagen vehicles between 2009 and 2015.  That's a massive fraud against the US population and significantly impacted the quality of the air in US cities.  There are many victims to this fraud, not just the consumers who purchased these vehicles.

    US law protects those who blow the whistle on potential or actual threats to the environment. Whistleblowers have a right to report environmental violations and to be free from retaliation for doing so. They may also be able to obtain money damages and other relief from those who violate environmental laws or retaliate against whistleblowers.

    Seven major federal environmental laws have special provisions protecting corporate whistleblowers:
    1. the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. § 7622

    • the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. § 2622

    • the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) (a.k.a. Clean Water Act), 33 U.S.C. § 1367

    • the Energy Reorganization Act (ERA) (also encompassing the Atomic Energy Act), 42 U.S.C. § 5851

    • the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (also encompassing the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA)), id. § 6901

    • the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), id. § 300j-9(i)

    • the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (a.k.a. Superfund), id. § 9610


    In addition, the False Claims Act offers environmental whistleblowers both a financial incentive to report wrongdoing in connection with federal contracts or other benefits and protection from retaliation for investigating and filing suit under the False Claims Act. 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3730.
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  • 0
    As I understand the matter, he pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, to commit wire fraud and to violation of the federal Clean Air Act for his role in the implementation of so-called “defeat devices.”  These seem to be deliberate fraudulent acts by an individual and his co-conspirators and not merely a failure to report, ignorance or incompetence. 


    I'm not a lawyer, but from what I have read, along with his co-conspirators, he began developing a new diesel engine in 2006 with the purpose of creating a product to comply with heightened U.S. emissions regulations.  Liang and his co-conspirators sought not to design a compliant engine, but, instead, knowlingly developed a software enabled defeat device. The device was specifically designed to recognize when it was being subjected to U.S. emissions testing, as opposed to regular road driving.  Moreover, as some diesel vehicles began to age and have warranty claims related to emissions parts and components, Volkswagen introduced a software upgrade in 2014 that increased the precision of the defeat device, but was announced to consumers as a method to adjust the vehicle’s steering wheel angle.  In total, Liang helped facilitate the installation of diesel engines with defeat devices in approximately 500,000 Volkswagen vehicles between 2009 and 2015.  That's a massive fraud against the US population and significantly impacted the quality of the air in US cities.  There are many victims to this fraud, not just the consumers who purchased these vehicles.

    US law protects those who blow the whistle on potential or actual threats to the environment. Whistleblowers have a right to report environmental violations and to be free from retaliation for doing so. They may also be able to obtain money damages and other relief from those who violate environmental laws or retaliate against whistleblowers.

    Seven major federal environmental laws have special provisions protecting corporate whistleblowers:
    1. the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. § 7622

    • the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. § 2622

    • the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) (a.k.a. Clean Water Act), 33 U.S.C. § 1367

    • the Energy Reorganization Act (ERA) (also encompassing the Atomic Energy Act), 42 U.S.C. § 5851

    • the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (also encompassing the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA)), id. § 6901

    • the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), id. § 300j-9(i)

    • the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (a.k.a. Superfund), id. § 9610


    In addition, the False Claims Act offers environmental whistleblowers both a financial incentive to report wrongdoing in connection with federal contracts or other benefits and protection from retaliation for investigating and filing suit under the False Claims Act. 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3730.
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