Ethical & Professional Standards Flashcards
7 cards from real CSJT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Ethical & Professional Standards flashcards as text
You are working on a sensitive case and a friend who is a journalist asks you about it off the record. You should:
Answer: Refuse to discuss the case and explain you cannot share work-related information
Off-the-record conversations do not create an exception to confidentiality obligations for civil servants.
You make a significant error that may affect a citizen's benefits. The most ethical action is to:
Answer: Immediately disclose the error to your supervisor and take corrective action
Timely disclosure of errors that affect citizens is required by professional accountability standards.
A colleague asks you to sign off on their work that you have not reviewed. You should:
Answer: Refuse to sign until you have personally reviewed the work
Your signature certifies personal review; signing without reviewing misrepresents the integrity of the oversight process.
Your agency uses a lottery system for allocating scarce public resources. A senior official asks you to manipulate results to favor a specific applicant. You should:
Answer: Refuse and document the request, then report it to the appropriate authority
Manipulating an allocation system at an official's request constitutes corruption and must be refused and reported.
You are aware that a public comment period for a proposed regulation closes soon. A community group approaches you asking for an extension. You should:
Answer: Explain that deadline changes require official action and direct them to the proper request process
Procedural rules like comment deadlines cannot be informally waived by individual employees.
You suspect a coworker is sharing proprietary agency data with an outside organization. The appropriate first step is to:
Answer: Report your suspicion to your supervisor or the agency's inspector general
Suspected data breaches should be reported to authorized investigators, not handled unilaterally.
A citizen complains that you treated them rudely. Even if you believe the complaint is exaggerated, the professional response is to:
Answer: Acknowledge the feedback and reflect on whether improvement is possible
Professionals in public service consider citizen feedback constructively and remain open to improving service quality.