The Polygraph Protection Act (29 U.S.C. § 2002) shields employees, both private and public sector, from being forced to take lie detector tests as a condition of employment. This law prohibits employers from requiring or pressuring employees to take these tests, taking adverse actions against those who refuse, or using results from voluntary tests in employment decisions. These protections safeguard employee privacy and autonomy, preventing employers from relying on unreliable and potentially coercive lie detector tests in the workplace.
29 U.S.C. § 2001
Except as provided in sections 2006 and 2007 of this title, it shall be unlawful for any employer engaged in or affecting commerce or in the production of goods for commerce—
(1) directly or indirectly, to require, request, suggest, or cause any employee or prospective employee to take or submit to any lie detector test;
(2) to use, accept, refer to, or inquire concerning the results of any lie detector test of any employee or prospective employee;
(3) to discharge, discipline, discriminate against in any manner, or deny employment or promotion to, or threaten to take any such action against—
(A) any employee or prospective employee who refuses, declines, or fails to take or submit to any lie detector test, or
(B) any employee or prospective employee on the basis of the results of any lie detector test; or
(4) to discharge, discipline, discriminate against in any manner, or deny employment or promotion to, or threaten to take any such action against, any employee or prospective employee because—
(A) such employee or prospective employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this chapter,
(B) such employee or prospective employee has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding, or (C)of the exercise by such employee or prospective employee, on behalf of such employee or another person, of any right afforded by this chapter.
(Pub. L. 100–347, § 3, June 27, 1988, 102 Stat. 646.)
