I babysit through an agency that requires parents to pay for a cab home after 9 p.m. If I accept this additional money, must I take a cab? I’d rather get on the subway and keep the extra money. —T.H., New York

ANSWER: The money is not a bonus—it’s to provide you with the safety of a cab ride home. Perhaps you feel that the subway is safe enough, but your employer shouldn’t have to dole out extra cash to nourish your savings. Talk to your employers. They may give you cab fare even if you make it clear that you’re getting home by public transportation. In any event, you shouldn’t take the money under false pretenses.

—Adapted from “The Ethicist” in The New York Times Magazine