Good point. I agree with and adhere to a fairly high work ethic myself.
But I did take into account that this guy did offer and his prospective new boss declined and said he must start right away.
Under those circumstances for a 59 year old, the ethical stance is a nice gesture but really he needed the job. There are times when looking out for number one is paramount.
See though, if he just thinks of only # uno then why should we get upset for a company doing the same? It goes two ways. As much as I have needed help I have hired people with a 2 week delay, telling them to go give notice.