THE USE OF LIE DETECTORS IN HIRING AND FIRING (H.R. 1524 AND H.R. 1924)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87B00858R000500790046-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 1, 2011
• Sequence Number: 46
• Publication Date: September 18, 1985
• Content Type: MISC

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MATTHEW 0 MARTINEZ. CALIFORNIA CHAIRMAN
PAT WILLIAMS. MONTANA
CHARLES A. HAYES. ILLINOIS
CHESTER 0. ATKINS. MASSACHUSETTS
AUGUSTUS F. HAWKINS. CALIFORNA EX OFFICIO
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
515 HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING ANNEX *1
WASHINGTON, DC 20515
The use of Lie Dectors in Hiring and Firing
(H. R. 1524 and H. R. 1924)
MINORITY MEMBERS
STEVE GUNDERSON WISCONSIN
PAUL B HENRY. MICHIGAN
JAMES M JEFFORDS. VERMONT. EX OFFICIO
September 18, 1985, 2:00 p.m.
Room 2257, Rayburn House Office Building
Witnesses
Congressman Bob Livingston
R-Louisiana
Member of Congress
Larry Talley
Vice President, Risk Management
Days Inn
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Testimony of Lawrence W. Talley
Chairman, Georgia State Board of Polygraph Examiners
Vice President of Risk Management, Days Inn of America, Inc.
Vice President-Private, American Polygraph Association
Before the Employment Opportunities Subcommittee
Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives
September 18, 1985
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My name is Lawrence W. Talley, and I am Vice President of
Risk Management for Days Inns of America, which operates
425 hotels and motels nationwide. I also serve as Vice
President-Private of the American Polygraph Association. In
addition, I am chairman of the Georgia State Board of Polygraph
Examiners which is appointed by the governor. This board
regulates polygraph examinations and licenses polygraph examiners
in the state. In 1984, I worked closely with members of the
Georgia General Assembly in drafting a law which is considered
to be a model for the nation.
I have seen countless instances in which the polygraph
has been invaluable to both employees and employers. Therefore,
I oppose outlawing the use of the polygraph in the private
sector, as H.R. 1524 and H.R. 1924 would do, but I do support
legislation which would provide strict guidelines for examiners
and strong protections for the rights of the examinees.
I believe. that guidelines for examiners and protections for
examinees are essential to protect both employees and employers.
I also believe that it is the responsibility of the states to
enact and enforce such legislation. States have the
Constitutional right and duty to regulate the businesses and
industries that provide goods and services to their
citizens. They license doctors and dentists, insurance and real
estate brokers, utility companies, and numerous other trade and
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professional groups. The states are accepting this
responsibility and, to date, at least 30 of them have passed
legislation regulating the use of polygraph examinations and
licensing of polygraph examiners.
The right of the states to govern themselves should be
respected. Legislators throughout the country are working to
develop legislation which:
o protects the rights of those taking the examinations
o establishes training and educational guidelines for
examiners
o sets guidelines for the type and quality of equipment
used during the examination
o restricts the types of questions asked during the
examination. Questions would be prohibited involving political
or religious beliefs or affiliations, opinions involving racial
matters or sexual preferences, and beliefs, affiliations, or
lawful activities regarding unions or labor organizations.
In my professional career, I have had an opportunity to gain
extensive experience with the use of the polygraph. I believe it
is an important investigative tool. In my opinion, Congress
acted correctly when it voted 333-71 to support expanded use of
the polygraph in protecting national security. The directors
of our government's intelligence agencies, such as the Naval
Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, have said
that the polygraph is a legitimate investigative tool that is
valuable in helping them to carry out their mission. American
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business also needs this tool to carry out its responsibilities
to protect the health and welfare of millions of American
consumers as well as to protect billions of dollars in company
and stockholder assets.
In 1975 in my own company, we were experiencing internal
losses which amounted to over $1 million annually. By
instituting a loss prevention program which uses the polygraph
technique, we have been able to reduce those losses to an average
of $115,000 a year. While losses have been reduced to about one-
eighth of the 1975 figure, company revenues have tripled. We
also have experienced more than $1 million in restitutions made
by employees.
At Days Inns, the polygraph has shown such positive results
over the last ten years, employees readily volunteer to take
polygraph examination when a question of honesty occurs. The
polygraph identifies more honesty than dishonesty, and exonerates
honest employees who are wrongly accused of misconduct on the
job.
Besides the polygraph's value in protecting employees,
customers, and company assets, many American businesses use the
polygraph to pre-screen persons they are considering hiring.
This helps them to select employees who will have a special
responsibility to the public, such as:
o day care centers, who must be especially careful in
screening child care personnel
o banks, where 84% of losses are attributed to internal
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theft
o nuclear facilities, whose employees have access to lethal
and valuable substances.
In my own industry, the lodging industry, courts across the
nation are awarding huge punitive damages against hotels for
improperly screening employees who commit crimes against guests.
In addition, the nation's pharmaceutical manufacturers,
distributors, and retailers have an important responsibility to
protect their products. The Drug Enforcement Administration,
which endorses the use of polygraphs, says that half a million to
a million doses of legal drugs vanish from inventories each
year. These legal drugs can be twice as lethal as illegal drugs.
The DEA says that 350,000 Americans are killed or injured each
year by legal drugs which are-improperly or illegally consumed.
This compares with 150,000 who die or are injured each year from
using illegal drugs.
From the standpoint of the consumer, the polygraph
is an important tool in controlling prices. The National
Association of Chain Drug Stores estimates that consumers pay
10-15% more for goods because of internal theft. The polygraph
helps in isolating those few employees who violate their
employers' trust, enabling businesses to control losses and
therefore costs.
The polygraph also protects the many honest employees who
may be accused or implicated in a crime, but who have no other
way to prove their innocence than by taking a polygraph
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examination. I have seen many instances where employees were
wrongly accused, often by fellow employees, of crimes that they
did not commit. The willingness of these accused employees to
take a polygraph to prove their innocence has shown that they,
too, respect its value.
Even though the polygraph is considered to have an 85-95%
accuracy rate, the polygraph profession strongly discourages
employers from using the test results as the sole basis for
employment or continued employment. The polygraph is a valuable
investigative tool that should be used in conjunction with other
methods to guage an employee's honesty.
The polygraph's value has been demonstrated to me
repeatedly, and I hope that I have been able to convey to the
committee some of my respect for its usefulness.
Over the past 15 years, at least 100 studies have been
conducted by scholars, scientists, and polygraph practitioners
concerning the accuracy of the polygraph technique. Based upon a
responsible reading of these results, the polygraph has been
shown to have an accuracy rate of 85-95%.
I believe that the office of Technology Assessment, in its
1983 report, distorted its results by using inaccurate
statistical methods. We encourage a repeat of that study to
present a more realistic picture of the polygraph's accuracy. In
1984, the Department of Defense released a report entitled "The
Accuracy and Utility of Polygraph Testing." We believe this
report is more thorough than the OTA study.
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Last year, there were widely publicized hearings in the
State of Georgia concerning polygraph legislation. At that time,
fewer than ten individuals came forward with complaints alleging
polygraph abuse in spite of the thousands of polygraph tests that
are given every year. At the time of those hearings, I
challenged the American Civil Liberties Union to document its
claim that the ACLU is inundated with complaints about polygraph
abuse. I am still waiting for that documentation.
I appreciate the opportunity to testify today and would be
happy to provide the Committee with data supporting any of the
points that I have made.
Whether protecting customer trust, company assets, or
employee integrity, many American businesses have found the
polygraph to be a valuable tool. I believe in the accuracy of the
polygraph, and I support the right of American business to have
the same access to this investigataive tool that the Federal
government has. Further, I believe that the authority to
regulate polygraph examinations and the licensing of examiners
should be with the states.
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