Polygraph Test For Jobs

[ChristieP]

Pre-employment olygraph tests are ILLEGAL in the state of Texas for everything except federal law enforcement positions, and they have been since the late 1980's.

I actually had to take one of rmy first job back in 1986. They asked me if I had ever stolen from or lied to an employer, and if I had ever done anything illegal, etc.

[DrLizardo]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Pre-employment olygraph tests are ILLEGAL in the state of Texas for everything except federal law enforcement positions, and they have been since the late 1980's.

Would be interested in your source on that because I think it may be misleading you. Looking at local law enforcement (non-federal) recruiting sites and they all state that passing a polygraph is a pre-employment requirement. Not just for police officers but for other sensitive positions like jailer and dispatcher. From HPD's website:

Phase 3
-Conditional job offer
-Polygraph examination
-Final interview
-Assigned for background investigation

http://www.hpdcareer.com/selection%20process.html (broken link)

Same for firefighters with HFD: http://www.houstontx.gov/fire/employment/2008-2009-HFD-HiringFlowChart.pdf (broken link)

Also, found this on a website for a Dallas area polygraph company:

Expert pre-employment polygraph examinations are also available for law enforcement, government agencies, private security, armored car and alarm industries, and companies involved in the manufacture, distribution or dispensing of controlled substances.

Absolute Truth Polygraph Associates


And the Legal Handbook for Texas Nurses says that pre-employment polygraphs are permitted under federal law for nurses who will be directly involved in manufacture, storage, distribution or sale of controlled substances.

Legal Handbook for Texas Nurses - Google Books


From looking at the Texas Occupation Code (1703) there are Texas laws governing polygraph examiners, and creating the Polygraph Examiners Board, which licenses and oversees who can give polygraphs and occupational regulations. But nothing about pre-employment polygraphs. There is a federal law, from the late 1980's, called the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, which does prohibit the use of pre-employment tests by private employers, with exceptions

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.

http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/eppa.htm (broken link)