Specific Incident Polygraph Testing under the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988

Authors

Ryan K. Brown

Abstract

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 was enacted to protect private individuals from unjust termination or denial of job opportunities resulting from unwarranted polygraph tests. The Act, however, allows private employers to continue using polygraphs as part of "ongoing investigations" of employee misconduct. This Comment examines the ambiguous language of this exemption that courts will encounter when determining whether employers have violated the Act. The Comment proposes that, unless legislative history or federal regulations indicate otherwise, ambiguities in the specific incident exemption should be broadly construed to avoid employer liability.

First Page

661

Recommended Citation

Ryan K. Brown, Comment, Specific Incident Polygraph Testing under the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, 64 Wash. L. Rev. 661 (1989).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol64/iss3/5