yankeedog wrote on Aug 31
st, 2006 at 3:17am:
The idea, policy or recommendation to not use the results of a polygraph examination as the "sole" reason to deny employment is certainly not new. To suggest it is some kind of revelation, is either misleading, intellectually dishonest or based upon ignorance. In fact, I have never known of any agency that has a written or verbal policy to deny employment for "solely" being deemed deceptive on a premployment polygraph test. Agencies that I am familiar with have written policies similar to the APA. I would like to see a written policy that does disqualify based "solely" on a deceptive pre-employment polygraph test.
See the FBI Manual of Investigative Operations and Guidelines, Section 67-7.10,
Polygraph Examinations of FBI Applicants. Under these written guidelines, the decision not to hire applicants is indeed made based upon polygraph results alone when the applicant "fails."
In 2001, the Los Angeles Police Department's hiring policy was
amended to include the following language: "A candidate shall be considered for disqualification on the basis of the results of the polygraph examination if the candidate's polygraph examination results were...deceptive..."
Both of these written policies clearly fail to conform with the APA's model policy. Quote:Keep in mind, in almost all cases where there is a deceptive pre-employment polygraph test, there is something else that can be used as a disqualifier. It may be minor, but a disqualifier nontheless.
How can you possibly know this to be true? In the case of FBI applicants, for example, typically no background investigation has been conducted by the time the applicant is rejected based on polygraph results. And if non-polygraphic disqualifying information is known
before the applicant in polygraphed, then there is no need to polygraph the applicant in the first place.
Agencies that wish to comply with the APA's model law enforcement pre-employment polygraph policy should be on guard against magnifying minor issues "to use as a disqualifier," as you put it, simply to mask rejections actually made based on uncorroborated polygraph results.
Quote:Recording the process is, in my opinion, recommended. I have had situations where an examinee has denied that they made reported disqualifying statements. Once they listen to the tape, that's the end of that complaint. And it also becomes a lifetime disqualifier!
Indeed, recording protects both examiner and examinee alike from false allegations about what was said and done in the polygraph suite.