jordan,
It sounds from your description that your employer is at risk of violating the
Employee Polygraph Protection Act. Under Section 2006 of this law, private sector employers may only
request that an employee submit to a polygraph "test" if:
Quote:
(1) the test is administered in connection with an ongoing investigation involving economic loss or injury to the employer's business, such as theft, embezzlement, misappropriation, or an act of unlawful industrial espionage or sabotage;
(2) the employee had access to the property that is the subject of the investigation;
(3) the employer has a reasonable suspicion that the employee was involved in the incident or activity under investigation; and
(4) the employer executes a statement, provided to the examinee before the test, that -
(A) sets forth with particularity the specific incident or activity being investigated and the basis for testing particular employees,
(B) is signed by a person (other than a polygraph examiner) authorized to legally bind the employer,
(C) is retained by the employer for at least 3 years, and
(D) contains at a minimum -
(i) an identification of the specific economic loss or injury to the business of the employer,
(ii) a statement indicating that the employee had access to the property that is the subject of the investigation, and
(iii) a statement describing the basis of the employer's reasonable suspicion that the employee was involved in the incident or activity under investigation.
A vague suspicion that "someone" is stealing money does not seem to meet the above-described conditions. But even if it did, under Section 2007 employees have the right to refuse to be "tested," and that refusal cannot be made the basis for any adverse action.
Your employer is inviting a lawsuit if she goes through with her planned polygraph dragnet. You might care to mention this website to your co-workers. I recommend that you all download
The Lie Behind the Lie Detector and discover for yourselves the trickery on which polygraph "testing" actually depends.
On a final note, although it's not a big deal, it would have been better for you to have started a new message thread on this topic. This is done by clicking on the "New Thread" button above the list of message threads.