Section 20 Requiring Employees to Take Polygraphs

• Library: Employer-Employee Law 2008

Under the federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA), Pub. L. No. 100-347, 102 Stat. 646, it is unlawful for an employer that is “engaged in or affecting commerce or in the production of goods for commerce,” 29 U.S.C. § 2002, “directly or indirectly, to require, request, suggest, or cause any employee or prospective employee to take or submit to any lie detector test.” 29 U.S.C. § 2002(1).

An employer can be liable for asking an employee to take a polygraph examination even when the employee refuses and no adverse action is taken against the employee for the refusal. Polkey v. Transtecs Corp., 404 F.3d 1264, 1268 (11^th Cir. 2005).

In Watson v. Weekends Only, Inc., No. 4:06-CV-599 CAS, 2007 WL 1527227, at *1 (E.D. Mo. May 23, 2007), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri...