I am currently in the process of pre employment to be an safety communications technician (dispatcher) for the city I live in. I currently work as a paramedic.

Yesterday I went in for my pre employment polygraph test. I got there in the morning and filled out some paperwork, I signed the consent to do the test. The polygrapher began my interview and things were going well. We took a break before the part of me being hooked up to the machine.

We began the actual part with me hooked up and agai. Things were going fine. He asked about my history with drugs and past discipline with previous employers. I told him the few things I could think of (smoking weed in high school and a write up for an argument with my boss) that section of the test came to an end and we moved on to the second set of questions.

The second round of question were about sexual crimes and serious crimes. He showed me a chart about sexual crimes and we ended up on the topic of the sexual abuse I went through when I was younger. Before I knew it I was crying. I don’t talk about that. The only person I have ever felt comfortable discussing it with is my significant other. After I disclosed what happened to me in minor detail, he asked more questions about it. This caused me to become ever more upset. He waited a couple minutes and then asked if we could continue. I could feel myself starting to sweat a little and my heart rate go up. Thinking about that stuff messes with my head. L He started the second portion of the test and asked the questions. I was trying to stay calm and every time he asked about the sexual stuff I just felt sick having to think about my past.

We finished the test and we sat there for what seemed like forever while he scored my test. He told me I passed the first round of questions, however I had failed the second part. He said I seemed to have more of a reaction to the sexual questions and I didn’t have one to the serious crimes questions. He said he would make a note in his report that he felt it was due to me being a victim of sexual abuse and I may have been withholding info related to that. He also said he couldn’t tell though if it was due to me feeling stressed or if I actually committed a sex crime. by having to relive that trauma in my head while strapped to a chair it caused me to feel sick and anxious. I have never committed a sex crime in my life! I thought I was honest and outright when I disclosed the info up front but I guess all that did was hurt me. I left there feeling awful. I work so hard to forget about what happened to me and not let it have any hold over my life. I have worked hard to be a paramedic and I wanted to get a better job now that I have that certification and some experience. I feel like if I get disqualified from this job I am still having to endure the pain that I faced 10 years ago. It sucks knowing that something I had no control over may be the very reason I can’t move forward in my life the way I want to.