My question is to anyone who follows this site.
Will pre-employment polygraph tests ever be banned?
If so, what will it take, and how long will it be?

Quote:


Anon:
I have to say that pre-employment polygraph testing will in fact eventually be banned.  The wheels of justice turn every so slowly, but they do turn.   
How long will it take?  Who is to know for certain?  I think that when too many desirable and qualified applicants become unavailable due to being DQ'd on poly results, a more serious look will be take at the poly.  I also think that when the public at large become more aware of the devastation the polygraph has had on so many innocent lives, they too will begin to rise up and cry for reform.   
Unfortunately, it takes victims, and often times an incredible amount of victims, to have an arbitrary and useless practice banned.
Regards,

Do you think it could be banned in say 5-10 years or more like 10-20 years?  Are there efforts being made to stop pre-employment polygraphing?  If so, what is currently being done to bring about this needed change?

I am personally against the use of a polygraph for pre-employment reasons.  I have read a lot of peoples' stories about how they failed the lie detector even though they told the truth, thus making them a false positive.  I really feel for all the people who have gone through this.  Hopefully the polygraph for pre-employment will be banned at all levels.  I wonder if there could be a ballot on this issue for the next election for it to be banned, but I don't know if it will ever happen?  What are everyone's thoughts?  What has to happen in the next 5-10 years or more?

Wondering44,

Thanks for your support and for sharing your thoughts on this. With regard to a ballot initiative for the banning of pre-employment polygraph screening, this is something that cannot be done at the national level: the U.S. Constitution does not provide for such initiatives, as do some states, like California. At the federal level, the ideal solution would be for Congress to pass, and the president to sign, a Comprehensive Employee Polygraph Protection Act that would ban all employment-related use of "lie detectors."

In addition, the president could end polygraph screening at the federal level by executive order. Toward that end, AntiPolygraph.org is sponsoring an on-line petition to President Bush.

An important part of any strategy for the elimination of polygraph screening is to demythologize the polygraph. The public needs to be informed about polygraphy, and this website was created with that purpose in mind. You might consider helping to publicize the polygraph issue by participating in AntiPolygraph.org's Campus Poster Initiative. Although this initiative was started primarily with college campuses in mind, there are many other venues where such posters might be appropriate. The poster campaign seems to have been having a significant impact, as visits to the site have increased considerably since it began.