NCJ Number
110101
Date Published
1987
Length
61 pages
Annotation
This document provides the text of Senate Bill 1904 (the polygraph Protection Act of 1987) together with supplemental materials on the bill's legislative background, estimated costs, regulatory impact, and implications for existing law.
Abstract
The bill would combine the prohibition of certain types of lie-detector tests with standards limiting one type of polygraph test. Its purpose is to eliminate the denial of employment opportunities by prohibiting the least accurate yet widely used tests (pre-employment and random polygraph examinations) and providing safeguards against abuses during tests not prohibited by the bill. In general, the bill would prevent employers from requiring, causing, or suggesting that any employee or applicant take a lie-detector test. Further, the employer is prohibited from referring to the results of any such test or from taking adverse actions against employees or applicants who refuse, fail, file a complaint, testify, or exercise other rights granted under the bill. The bill would regulate nearly every private business, its employees, and its applicants. While resulting in some additional paperwork, the bill would reduce denial of employment based on erroneous test results and eliminate the invasion of privacy inherent in pre-employment and random polygraph testing. Minority views are included.