The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that a number of Española, NM civil servants will be forced to submit to polygraphic interrogation in the wake of thefts from City Hall. Excerpt:
Two Española police officers, a city clerk and two police clerks will undergo polygraphs to determine whether any of them stole $1,800 and 3.3 grams of heroin from City Hall. Española Police Chief Wayne Salazar said he received a list of employees to undergo the tests from city manager Leonard Padilla.
Salazar would not release the names of those who will take the test.
If these individuals were employees of a private company, the 1988 Employee Polygraph Protection Act would give them the right to decline these unreliable “tests.” Unfortunately, the protections of the EPPA are not extended to government employees.