Has something been stolen from your business or at your business location? Would you like to find out the truth about who is responsible?
According to the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, an employer can request an employee take a polygraph test after certain criteria have been met.
- The incident must be an ongoing, specific investigation
- It must be an identifiable economic loss to the employer
- Obtain a copy of the Employer Polygraph Protection Act of 1988
- Provide the employee with a written statement that includes:
- Identification of the company and location of employee
- description of the loss or activity under investigation
- location of the loss
- specific amount of the loss
- type of economic loss
- how the employee had access to the loss
- what kind of reasonable suspicion there is to suspect the employee
- The Statement provided to employee MUST be signed by someone
other than the polygraph examiner, who is authorized to legally bind the
employee, and the form MUST be retained by the employer for at least 3 years. - Read the Notice to the employee, which should be signed, timed, dated and witnessed.
- Provide the employee with 48 hours advanced notice (not counting
weekends or holidays) to the date and time of the scheduled polygraph test - Provide employee with written notice of the date, time and location of
the polygraph test, including written directions if the test is to be
conducted at a location other than at the place of employment - Maintain a statement of adverse actions taken against the employee
following a polygraph test - Conduct an additional interview of employee prior to any adverse
action following a polygraph test - Maintain records of ALL of the above for a minimum of 3 years
- Employees may not waive their rights. They are entitled to decline the test, seek legal advice and terminate the test at any time.
- Police and investigators are not exempt and must comply if they are
conducting an employment related polygraph test, i.e., when conducting a
polygraph test on an internal theft for a missing deposit. Information about
a polygraph provided to the employer by a police officer or investigator is
prohibited under the Act, since employers are not allowed to use, accept
or inquire about the results - There is a $10,000 penalty for EACH violation of the law
- Check out the credentials of the polygraph examiner that you use.
- Use your company letterhead on all forms you provide to the
employee. Have your corporate attorney review your actions to assure your compliance of EPPA.
We use special forms that outline and explain both the employer’s and employee’s rights. The specific loss must be addressed on the forms. We will work with you to come up with the list of questions that you would like to address with the employee, but they can only relate to the loss and nothing else.
We will find a place that’s convenient for you, including your business location. Contact us today to get started.
Important Statistics:
- 30% of employees steal from their employers
- $40 billing dollars each year is lost by businesses through employee theft
- 40% of business failure can be linked to employee theft
- 60% to 70% of total losses were due to proven employee theft in the retail industry in 2001
- $9.00 per day per employee is lost in a typical business to fraud and abuse
- 6% of the total annual revenue in a business is lost to fraud and abuse committed by its own employees
- 65% to 75% of all merchandise losses come from inside stealing by employees according to The Insurance Institute of America
- 40 million Americans used fraudulent resumes or false statements on job applications to obtain a job
- 75% of potential and current employees have an undisclosed criminal history
Important Links:
American Polygraph Association – EPPA Checklists
How to Identify Dishonesty Within Your Business