US polygraph consultation: employer testing limits remain

A paperwork consultation, not a new testing power

The US Department of Labor published an information-collection notice on 28 October 2026 concerning the Employee Polygraph Protection Act. Comments are due on November 27. This administrative review concerns the collection of information needed to administer the existing protections. Official source.

The notice does not create a new general right to test employees. The Act generally prohibits most private employers from using lie-detector tests for recruitment or during employment, subject to its coverage rules and limited exceptions.

An exception requires more than a business concern

Government employers are outside the Act’s coverage. Certain security-service and controlled-substance businesses, and some investigations of specific economic losses, may fall within conditional exceptions. An exception must be assessed against its actual requirements.

The Labor Department’s explanation also describes restrictions on testing and disclosure. A signed consent form is not a blanket waiver of statutory protection, and a suspected loss does not automatically justify testing every worker.

Connect an investigation to evidence

Hypothetically, a private warehouse discovers missing inventory and proposes testing the whole shift. Before arranging any examination, the employer should examine coverage, the particular loss, the evidence connecting a person to it and the required procedural protections.

Keep the investigation record separate from assumptions about guilt. Policies, notices and any proposed disclosures also need review; calling a test voluntary does not settle whether requesting or using it is lawful.

Use the correct channel for each issue

The November 27 deadline concerns public comments on the information collection. It is not an extension of a worker’s complaint deadline, a new compliance grace period or permission to use an unapproved process.

Someone reviewing an existing policy should preserve its wording, relevant requests and dates, then obtain advice on the applicable federal and state rules. Public consultation submissions should use anonymised examples rather than exposing an employee’s personnel file.

Legal check date

Sources and law checked on 28 October 2026. Later developments are not reflected automatically. Application of the rules depends on the individual facts.