The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA) is a United States federal law that generally prevents employers from using lie detector tests, either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment, with certain exemptions.

Under EPPA, most private employers may not require or request any employee or job applicant to take a lie detector test, or discharge, discipline, or discriminate against anybody for refusing to take a test or for exercising other rights under the act. However, the act does permit polygraph tests to be administered to certain applicants for job with security firms (such as armored car, alarm, and guard companies) and of pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and dispensers. The law does not cover federal, state, and local government agencies.

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests, either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment. Employers generally may not require or request any employee or job applicant to take a lie detector test, or discharge, discipline, or discriminate against an employee or job applicant for refusing to take a test or for exercising other rights under the Act.

Employers may not use or inquire about the results of a lie detector test or discharge or discriminate against an employee or job applicant on the basis of the results of a test, or for filing a complaint, or for participating in a proceeding under the Act. Subject to restrictions, the Act permits polygraph (a type of lie detector) tests to be administered to certain job applicants of security service firms (armored car, alarm, and guard) and of pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and dispensers.

Subject to restrictions, the Act also permits polygraph testing of certain employees of private firms who are reasonably suspected of involvement in a workplace incident (theft, embezzlement, etc.) that resulted in specific economic loss or injury to the employer. Where polygraph examinations are allowed, they are subject to strict standards for the conduct of the test, including the pretest, testing and post-testing phases. An examiner must be licensed and bonded or have professional liability coverage. The Act strictly limits the disclosure of information obtained during a polygraph test.

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) is administered and enforced by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The EPPA applies to most private employers. The law does not cover Federal, state, and local government agencies.

Basic Provisions/Requirements

The EPPA prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests, either for pre‑employment screening or during the course of employment. Employers generally may not require or request any employee or job applicant to take a lie detector test, or discharge, discipline, or discriminate against an employee or job applicant for refusing to take a test or for exercising other rights under the Act.

Employers may not use or inquire about the results of a lie detector test or discharge or discriminate against an employee or job applicant on the basis of the results of a test, or for filing a complaint or for participating in a proceeding under the Act.

Subject to restrictions, the Act permits polygraph (a type of lie detector) tests to be administered to certain job applicants of security service firms (armored car, alarm, and guard) and of pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and dispensers.

Subject to restrictions, the Act also permits polygraph testing of certain employees of private firms who are reasonably suspected of involvement in a workplace incident (theft, embezzlement, etc.) that resulted in specific economic loss or injury to the employer.

Where polygraph examinations are allowed, they are subject to strict standards for the conduct of the test, including the pretest, testing, and post testing phases. An examiner must be licensed if required by a state in which the test is to be conducted, and must be bonded or have professional liability coverage. The Act strictly limits the disclosure of information obtained during a polygraph test.

Employee Rights

The EPPA provides that employees have a right to employment opportunities without being subjected to lie detector tests, unless a specific exemption applies. Where polygraph examinations are allowed, they are subject to strict standards at the pre-test, testing, and post-testing stages. Specific notices must be given to employees or prospective employees. The Act also provides employees the right to file a lawsuit for violations of the Act. In addition, the Wage and Hour Division accepts complaints of alleged EPPA violations.

Recordkeeping, Reporting, Notices and Posters

Notices and Posters

Poster. Every employer subject to EPPA shall post and keep posted on its premises a notice explaining the Act. The notice must be posted in a prominent and conspicuous place in every establishment of the employer where it can readily be observed by employees and applicants for employment. There is no size requirement for the poster.

The EPPA poster is available in English and Spanish. Posting of the EPPA poster in Spanish is optional.

Notices. There are specific notices that must be given to examinees and examiners in instances where polygraph tests are permitted:

When a polygraph test is administered pursuant to the economic loss or injury exemption, the employer is required to provide the examinee with a statement prior to the test, in a language understood by the examinee, which fully explains the specific incident or activity being investigated and the basis for testing particular employees. The statement must contain, at a minimum, the following information:

An identification with particulars of the specific economic loss or injury to the business of the employer
A description of the employee’s access to the property that is the subject of the investigation
A detailed description of the basis of the employer’s reasonable suspicion that the employee was involved in the incident or activity under investigation
The signature of a person (other than the polygraph examiner) authorized to legally bind the employer

Every employer who requests an employee or prospective employee to submit to a polygraph examination pursuant to the ongoing investigation, drug manufacturer, or security services EPPA exemptions must provide:

Reasonable written notice of the date, time, and place of the examination and the examinee’s right to consult with legal counsel or an employee representative before each phase of the test
Written notice of the nature and characteristics of the polygraph instrument and examination
Extensive written notice explaining the examinee’s rights, including a list of prohibited questions and topics, the examinee’s right to terminate the examination, and the examinee’s right to file a complaint with the Department of Labor alleging violations of EPPA

Employers must also provide written notice to the examiner identifying the persons to be examined.

Recordkeeping

In the limited instances where EPPA permits the administration of polygraph tests, recordkeeping requirements apply both to employers and polygraph examiners. Employers and polygraph examiners must retain required records for a minimum of three years from the date the polygraph examination is conducted (or from the date the examination is requested if no examination is conducted).

Employers investigating an economic loss or injury must maintain a copy of the statement that sets forth the specific incident or activity under investigation and the basis for testing that particular employee and proof of service of that statement to the examinee.

Employers who manufacture, distribute, or dispense controlled substances must maintain records specifically identifying the loss or injury in question and the nature of the employee’s access to the person or property that is the subject of the investigation.

Every employer who requests an employee or prospective employee to submit to a polygraph examination pursuant to the ongoing investigation, drug manufacturer, or security services EPPA exemptions must maintain:

A copy of the written statement that sets forth the time and place of the examination and the examinee’s right to consult with counsel
A copy of the written notice provided by the employer to the examiner identifying the persons to be examined
Copies of all opinions, reports, or other records furnished to the employer by the examiner relating to such examinations

All polygraph examiners must maintain all opinions, reports, charts, written questions, lists, and other records relating to polygraph tests of such persons, as well as records of the number of examinations conducted during each day, and the duration of each test period.

All exempt private sector employers and polygraph examiners retained to administer examinations to persons identified by employers must keep the required records safe and accessible at the place or places of employment or business or at one or more established central recordkeeping offices where employment or examination records are customarily maintained. If the records are maintained at a central recordkeeping office, other than in the place or places of employment or business, such records must be made available within 72 hours following notice from the Secretary of Labor or an authorized representative such as Wage and Hour Division personnel.

Reporting

There are no reporting requirements under EPPA.

Penalties/Sanctions

The Secretary of Labor can bring court action to restrain violators and assess civil money penalties. An employer who violates the law may be liable to the employee or prospective employee for appropriate legal and equitable relief, which may include employment, reinstatement, promotion, and payment of lost wages and benefits.

Any person against whom a civil money penalty is assessed may, within 30 days of the notice of assessment, request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. If dissatisfied with the Administrative Law Judge’s decision, such person may request a review of the decision by the Administrative Review Board which the Secretary of Labor has designated to issue final agency decisions. Final determinations on violations are enforceable through the courts.

Relation to State, Local, and Other Federal Laws

The law generally does not preempt any provision of any state or local law or any collective bargaining agreement that is more restrictive with respect to lie detector tests.

Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988

The Department of Labor administers and enforces the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (the Act)
through the Wage and Hour Division. The Act generally prevents employers engaged in interstate commerce
from using lie detector tests either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment, with
certain exemptions.

The Act, signed by the President on June 27, 1988, became effective on December 27,
1988.

Under the Act, the Secretary of Labor is directed to distribute a notice of the Act’s protections, to issue rules
and regulations, and to enforce the provisions of the Act. The Act empowers the Secretary of Labor to bring
injunctive actions in U.S. district courts to restrain violations, and to assess civil money penalties against
employers who violate any provision of the Act.

Employers are required to post notices summarizing the protections of the Act in their places of work.

Definitions

A lie detector includes a polygraph, deceptograph, voice stress analyzer, psychological stress evaluator
or similar device (whether mechanical or electrical) used to render a diagnostic opinion as to the honesty
or dishonesty of an individual.

A polygraph means an instrument that records continuously, visually, permanently, and simultaneously
changes in cardiovascular, respiratory and electrodermal patterns as minimum instrumentation standards
and is used to render a diagnostic opinion as to the honesty or dishonesty of as individual.

Prohibitions

An employer shall not:

  • Require, request, suggest or cause an employee or prospective employee to take or submit to any lie
    detector test.
  • Use, accept, refer to, or inquire about the results of any lie detector test of an employee or prospective employee.
  • Discharge, discipline, discriminate against, deny employment or promotion, or threaten to take any such action against an employee or prospective employee for refusal to take a test, on the basis of the resultsof a test, for filing a complaint, for testifying in any proceeding or for exercising any rights afforded by the Act.

Exemptions

Federal, state and local governments are excluded. In addition, lie detector tests administered by the Federal
Government to employees of Federal contractors engaged in national security intelligence or counterintelligence
functions are exempt.

The Act also includes limited exemptions where polygraph tests (but no other lie
detector tests) may be administered in the private sector, subject to certain restrictions:
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• To employees who are reasonably suspected of involvement in a workplace incident that results in
economic loss to the employer and who had access to the property that is the subject of an investigation;
and
• To prospective employees of armored car, security alarm, and security guard firms who protect
facilities, materials or operations affecting health or safety, national security, or currency and other like
instruments; and
• To prospective employees of pharmaceutical and other firms authorized to manufacture, distribute, or
dispense controlled substances who will have direct access to such controlled substances, as well as
current employee who had access to persons or property that are the subject of an ongoing investigation.
Qualifications of examiners
An examiner is required to have a valid and current license if required by a State in which the test is to be
conducted, and must maintain a minimum of $50,000 bond or professional liability coverage.

Employee/prospective employee rights

An employee or prospective employee must be given a written notice explaining the employee’s or prospective
employee’s rights and the limitations imposed, such as prohibited areas of questioning and restriction on the use
of test results. Among other rights, an employee or prospective employee may refuse to take a test, terminate a
test at any time, or decline to take a test if he/she suffers from a medical condition. The results of a test alone
cannot be disclosed to anyone other than the employer or employee/prospective employee without their consent
or, pursuant to court order, to a court, government agency, arbitrator or mediator.
Under the exemption for ongoing investigations of work place incidents involving economic loss, a written or
verbal statement must be provided to the employee prior to the polygraph test which explains the specific
incident or activity being investigated and the basis for the employer’s reasonable suspicion that the employee
was involved in such incident or activity.

Where polygraph examinations are permitted under the Act, they are subject to strict standards concerning the
conduct of the test, including the pre-test, testing and post-test phases of the examination.
Civil actions may be brought by an employee or prospective employee in Federal or State court against
employers who violate the Act for legal or equitable relief, such as employment reinstatement, promotion, and
payment of lost wages and benefits. The action must be brought within 3 years of the date of the alleged
violation.

Where to Obtain Additional Information

For additional information, visit our Wage and Hour Division Website: http://www.wagehour.dol.gov
and/or call our toll-free information and helpline, available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in your time zone, 1-866-
4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). This publication is for general information and is not to be considered in the
same light as official statements of position contained in the regulations.

Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments

Starting in 2016, agencies across the federal government must adjust their penalties for inflation each year. Below is a table that reflects the adjustments that have occurred for penalties under this statute. For more information on the penalty adjustments, go here.

Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments
Type of Violation Statutory Citation CFR Citation Maximum Civil Monetary Penalty on or before 1/15/2022 Maximum Civil Monetary Penalty on or after 1/16/2022
(1) Requiring, requesting, suggesting or causing an employee or prospective employee to take a lie detector test or using, accepting, referring to or inquiring about the results of any lie detector test of any employee or prospective employee, other than as provided in the Act or part 801;
(2) Taking an adverse action or discriminating in any manner against any employee or prospective employee on the basis of the employee’s or prospective employee’s refusal to take a lie detector test, other than as provided in the Act or part 801;
(3) Discriminating or retaliating against an employee or prospective employee for the exercise of any rights under the Act;
(4) Disclosing information obtained during a polygraph test, except as authorized by the Act or part 801;
(5) Failing to maintain the records required by the Act or part 801;
(6) Resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, or interfering with an official of the DOL during the performance of an investigation, inspection, or other law enforcement function under the Act or part 801;
(7) Violating any other provision of the Act or part 801.
29 USC 2005(a) 29 CFR 801.42(a) $21,663 $23,011