You work for an electrical services firm. You and Brad are on the client's site, finishing up a job that involved installing some new 277V lighting. After you energized the lighting branch circuit, you ran through your post-job checklist and that list involves taking voltage measurements (e.g., N-G.). You did this while Brad handled clean-up tasks, so you could both get out of there in a reasonable time. Brad had promised his son he'd be there for his basketball game, so he had a compelling reason to not waste time.
To benchmark your measurements on the system you just installed, you took the same measurements on a 277V lighting system that's on a different branch circuit installed by some other contractor. Instead of maybe a volt or two between the EMT and the building steel, you measured almost 277V. Your heart skipped a beat when you realized you had almost put your hand on that EMT a moment ago.
You put on your electrical gloves and did a little checking. The EMT was being used, not as the equipment grounding conductor, but as the neutral. It was carrying the return current. This, of course, is a big deal. If you call your boss, it could mean you and Brad will have to stick around while your people and the plant manager have a tense phone conversation. Then maybe you'll have to spend another hour or so showing the client the measurements and determining the scope of the problem. But Brad has that game to go to. And not only does this problem exist due to someone else's stupidity, there's been no report of any shock. Should you just enter it into the job report and skedaddle out of there?
Let's assume you sneak out, and nothing happens. What great luck! Let's assume you sneak out, and someone grabs that EMT with one hand and building steel with the other. You hear about the electrocution later, at about the same time your boss reads your report that has a note about the issue.
Your ethical and legal obligation is to inform the client. Clearly, you are obligated to bring this issue to someone's attention before leaving the facility. If you and Brad rode together, that means he can't just go to the game while you take care of business. But you can probably cut this much shorter than you had originally thought. To avoid the feared “stay a long time past when we need to leave” outcome, tell your boss that correctly determining the scope of this problem requires a plan and scheduled work. Suggest that a “Danger high voltage” sign be hung on the offending EMT in the meantime.
Your ethical and legal obligation does not also require you to fix the problem or be involved in assessing its extent. If the client requests that assessment, that's when your boss discusses fees and scheduling. In the meantime, the client can protect personnel by hanging signs on lighting branch circuit EMT and informing each individual worker face to face (perhaps in ad hoc meetings) that the EMT may pose a shock hazard. So now you aren't just sneaking off and leaving people's fate to chance. But you aren't sacrificing your evening and Brad's, either.
