husband fired over voice stress test

[res72132]

My husband worked at the Arkansas State Department of Corrections. He was accused of some things (stupid things) by an inmate. He was placed under investigation by the state's Internal Affairs and was given a voice stress test without warning and showed he was deceptive in his answers. Well he was fired! Is this legal and does anyone know of cases where this has happened before and the person got their job back. Also what might be our legal rights. very confused about this whole thing which is what they wanted to begin with and going up against the State makes us feel like a little fish in a big ocean.

[George W. Maschke]

Unfortunately, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (the federal law that prohibits most private employers from relying on polygraphs and other lie detectors such as voice stress analyzers) includes a blanket exemption for federal, state, and local governments. (AntiPolygraph.org has proposed language for a Comprehensive Employee Polygraph Protection Act eliminating the double standard.)

Whether your husband's firing was legal or not will depend on Arkansas state law and any applicable administrative guidelines. It would be best to consult a lawyer experienced in labor law. Martindale's Lawyer Locator service may be helpful in finding one near you:

http://www.martindale.com

It was certainly arbitrary and capricious for your husband's employer to fire him based on the result of a voice stress test. The manufacturer of the "Computer Voice Stress Analyzer," the most widely used voice stress analyzer, has admitted in federal court that CVSA "is not capable of lie detection."

This week, a former probation officer in Indiana who was fired based on polygraph results was awarded $300,000 in a lawsuit. Your husband may also have legal recourse. Again, I recommend that you consult a lawyer.

[DippityShurff]

My husband worked at the Arkansas State Department of Corrections. He was accused of some things (stupid things) by an inmate. He was placed under investigation by the state's Internal Affairs and was given a voice stress test without warning and showed he was deceptive in his answers. Well he was fired! Is this legal and does anyone know of cases where this has happened before and the person got their job back. Also what might be our legal rights. very confused about this whole thing which is what they wanted to begin with and going up against the State makes us feel like a little fish in a big ocean.

If they terminated your husband's employment based solely on the chart reading from a voice stress test, he has a cause of action.  If however, they elicited some admission/confession from him, he is likely not going to prevail.  Perhaps they got him to resign rather than be "fired"?  Again, if they failed him based ONLY on the voice stress test, I can think of at least a dozen lawyers who would take the case on a contingency