Many employers are now using honesty or integrity testing to determine an employee's suitability for particular jobs and attempt to minimize theft, embezzlement, or filing of claims against the employer. These may include written psychological tests designed to predict employees who are more likely to engage in conduct against the employer's interest. However, in many cases, employers are prohibited from generally testing employees to determine honesty.
Employers are generally not prohibited from giving psychological tests, as long as the psychological tests are not used to determine whether or not a person has a physical or mental disability. In that case, such a test would be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The employer is under no obligation to give the employee or applicant the test results.
The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA) prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests (“polygraphs”) to screen job applicants unless the employer is:
