Tips on Polygraph testing

[carnenorte]

Dear People,
 
     I havebeen allegedly cherged and is under investigation by my company as violator of the companys rules and regulation regarding stealing company property and/or the companys finished products. Right now I have given them all the necessary info regarding what has happened. It started last week when I received a mail from one of my co-emplyees that he wants to have a computer hard drive and he needs it badly because there is someone interested in bying the items. What we are talking about here is my personal spare hard drives, unfortunety, someone has read his mail to me and reported to the administration of the company, reason for me to be thrown with some suspicions and allegations. After the initial investigation, I was advised that they would fully believe me and/or clear out my name if would voluntary undergo a lie detector test. I will be scheduled this week. I agreed to the condition because I am currently suspended on my work for 5 days and I am worried of what my co-employees would think about me and the situation that I am in to.
     One thing is not certain for me, though, how does this polygraph test work, can be convicted using this, there are many questions on this on my part...for example I am a hypertesive person, will it affect my pinvestigation of the polygraph test. Also, should I not elaborate some things will it be bad. Will the result of this be validated for my to loss my work or even convict me for crimes. Please somebody help me, I am nervous and don't know what to do.

[George W. Maschke]

Polygraphs don't work, and it was a mistake for you to agree to submit to this invalid test. You'll find polygraph procedure briefly explained on the homepage of this website. A much fuller description is provided in Chapter 3 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector.

If you work in the United States, then under the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA), your employer may neither force you to take a lie detector "test" nor take any adverse action against you for refusing to submit to this invalid procedure. In addition, your employer may face heavy fines and civil damages for violation of this law. Judgments in excess of one million dollars for violation of the EPPA are not unheard of.

As for your hypertension, there are no scientific studies of the influence of high blood pressure or any other medical condition on polygraph results. But in any event, polygraph "testing" has not been proven through peer-reviewed research to reliably separate liars from truthtellers at better-than-chance conditions under field conditions in people without a chronic medical.

While polygraph results are generally inadmissible as evidence of guilt in criminal cases, I  think you would still be wise to refuse the polygraph. Polygraphy has an inherent bias against the truthful, and honest people run a high risk of being wrongly branded as liars. On this message borad, you'll find examples of many people who were falsely branded as liars by the polygraph. For a recent example, see, Lie Detector Fraud.

In explaining to your employer your reasons for refusing the polygraph, feel free to mention the information you've learned on this website, and to give your employer my contact information.

In addition, because you are being investigated for what is likely a felony crime, I think it would be wise for you to seek the counsel of a criminal defense lawyer.