You often hear about lie detector tests when there are high profile cases being resolved. At times, a polygraph test is also required of someone who is applying for a job. There are certain government jobs within the FBI and CIA that require this. The purpose of a detector test is to determine whether the person is telling the truth or lying. About four or six sensors that are attached to the person. A polygraph is a machine where the signals from the sensors are recorded on a strip of paper. The following information is recorded by this test: breathing rate, perspiration, pulse, and blood pressure. There are also some polygraph tests that record the arm and leg movements. For more information about lie detector tests, you can check: https://www.liedetectortest.uk.
In general, it is not allowed for a private employer to require or request an employee or a job applicant to undergo a lie detector test or to discharge, discriminate, or to discipline against the employee or a job applicant who declines to take this test. It is also not legal for employers to request the results of a lie detector test.
However, there are exceptions to this. Examples of industries that are not under this prohibition are security firms and also pharmaceutical manufacturers, dispensaries, and distributors. They have the green sign to conduct lie detector tests on their employees. They however have to abide by some restrictions on how the lie detector test can be used. It has to be reiterated that the state, federal, and local governments do not abide by the EPPA. They simply have to observe some restrictions when they use the lie detector test on their employees.
Another exception is for employers to conduct a lie detector test on employees who are suspected to be involved in a workplace incident, e.g., theft or embezzlement, that resulted to injury and monetary loss on the employer. The use of the polygraph test in this case is still under certain restrictions. The employer is required to put into writing the reason for conducting the polygraph test and the particular incident that is being investigated.
The EPPA states that employees are entitled to employment in companies without the expectation of going through a polygraph test. For companies that are allowed to do the test, they have to follow certain restrictions before, during, and after the test. Among them is that it is required that the employees are told before the test and it is required for certain information to be recorded.