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What they don't know, won't hurt them?

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kian

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A particular company in the securities industry hires people from all over the world to work for them, allowing them to telecommute from their home countries. Employees can reside in ANY country except the United States. The company does hire Americans, but they have to relocate outside the US before they begin work.

 

I do not know the reason for this policy, whether it is an actual U.S. law that forbids American residents from working for them, or just some kind of precaution to protect the company and owners, who are American, from U.S. regulators.

 

My question is, would it be immoral for an American to sign on to work for them and then proceed to lie to them about his relocation status, claiming to be living abroad while connecting to the company's server through a proxy?

 

Is it out on the grounds of the lie alone? What other moral considerations are there?

Edited by kian
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You're not only lying, you're actively presenting a false reality to your employers in order to get them to act against their rational judgement. In doing so you're likely exposing them to harm from the US government. It's not just extremely dishonest, it's fraud.

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Prima facie you should not be lying. 

Still, I'm curious why this company has this rule. Do they wish compliance or are they looking for people to lie to them? If you are a U.S. citizen located outside the U.S. will they deduct U.S. income taxes and forward them to the IRS? If there are some shady reasons they want you to say you're not in the U.S. (wink-wink), you could be exposing yourself to a risk that is not worth the pay-off.

Edited by softwareNerd
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I'm curious what the reason for the rule is, too, but what I think is that they want everything to be totally beyond the reach of U.S. regulators. There is nothing shady about them and they are not looking for anyone to lie. There is no "wink wink" kind of thing going on.

 

Prima facie you should not be lying. 

Still, I'm curious why this company has this rule. Do they wish compliance or are they looking for people to lie to them? If you are a U.S. citizen located outside the U.S. will they deduct U.S. income taxes and forward them to the IRS? If there are some shady reasons they want you to say you're not in the U.S. (wink-wink), you could be exposing yourself to a risk that is not worth the pay-off.

Edited by kian
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Why would anyone want to live deceitfully?  Is it rational?

 

It's not that I have a desire to lie, and I'm not even implicating myself. What if it's simply unrealistic for a person to relocate for some reason, but he still really wants to do it, and lying might give him the opportunity to do so?

Edited by kian
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You'd have to consider many factors before you lie to an employer. As sNerd said, maybe they are obviously suggesting to a certain kind of person that he lie, given a very specific shared context that isn't widely understood. If not, are you planning to be employed long-term? If not, maybe you think you know better than the employer (possible, but not likely). If you do, you'd better hope they agree if they find out -- or do you? Maybe they're not connected to the American business scene and so your reputation won't be tarnished. Maybe they won't consider it worth their time to prosecute.

In general, telling the truth will probably see you through to a better situation. But, if you have a very wide context and are certain it is good for both you and the employer for you to lie, then maybe you should lie. The important part isn't necessarily "telling the truth," but staying realistic (and the corollary, honest, in the longest and broadest sense).

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I'm curious what the reason for the rule is, too, but what I think is that they want everything to be totally beyond the reach of U.S. regulators. There is nothing shady about them and they are not looking for anyone to lie. There is no "wink wink" kind of thing going on.

 

Obviously you haven't given us all the facts you know, and you may have your reasons. With the little you said, I smell a con. If a company were serious about employing people working outside the U.S., and if they thought they would be in legal trouble otherwise, they would typically take some minimal steps to show that they have verified your location. They could call you long distance to say hello; they might send you a packet to your foreign address for you to sign and send back; they could say they want to deposit your pay via a bank account in your country of residence. Perhaps they do some such check, and you have figured out how someone else, abroad can impersonate you. Con men routinely look for a target who is willing to cheat alongside them, not realizing that they're the patsy.

 

Anyhow, as I said, you probably know more,... in which case disregard what I've posted.

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The only reason to avoid the US is because what they're doing is illegal in the US. If you go to work for them and stay in the country, you're risking being prosecuted for it. And I'm sure US authorities keep a careful eye on companies who do this kind of maneuvering, and would love nothing more than to nail someone who works for them.

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