Of the six mandatory federal postings every U.S. employer must display for employees, there is one in particular that may slip your attention. The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) poster is narrow in scope, but it’s a requirement, nonetheless.
Here’s what the EPPA covers, and what you must do to ensure compliance with the law and the related posting.
The EPPA is a federal law that prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment. Specifically, you can’t require or request an employee or job applicant to take a lie detector test, nor can you discharge, discipline or discriminate against an individual for refusing to take a lie detector test (or exercising other rights under the law, such as filing a complaint).
Certain exceptions do exist. For example, federal, state and local governments are not impacted by the law. For full details on exceptions, refer to the Department of Labor website.
The EPPA is administered and enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
The EPPA poster informs applicants and employees of the above details. In four sections, it outlines:
According to the Department of Labor (DOL), “the law requires employers to display this poster where employees and job applicants can readily see it.” This means posting it in a prominent and conspicuous place that is highly visible to all employees — and possibly a second location where job applicants can see it (if one location does not work for both audiences).
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