Employee Testing Rights
- Some jobs require employees to take a polygraph.lie or not lie? image by Slyadnyev Oleksandr from Fotolia.com
Under the guidelines of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, businesses cannot force a potential employee into taking a polygraph test and cannot deny them a job simply because they refuse to take one. However, this law only applies to commercial businesses. Those interested in working for a governmental agency, such as a police department, may still be required to take a polygraph. - Federal employees may be subject to random drug testing.Marijuana image by spiller from Fotolia.com
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed an executive order which, in turn, created the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, making it mandatory for all federal employees to remain drug free. This law also mandates that certain employees, such as those who have jobs regulated by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), must submit to random drug testing in order to keep their jobs. - Disabled employees must be tested equally.disabled sign image by Warren Millar from Fotolia.com
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits all employers from making a potential employee submit to a medical exam in order to test their physical limitations. However, once the applicant is hired, the employer may request a physical exam but only if he requests it of all new employees who have earned a job within that field.
