LEGISLATION RESTRICTING POLYGRAPHS IN THE BUSINESS SECTOR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86B00338R000300360012-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 30, 2008
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: December 1, 1983
• Content Type: MEMO

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OLL 83-2849
1 December 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director, Office of Legislative Liaison
Legislation Division, OLL
SUBJECT: Legislation Restricting Polygraphs in the
Business Sector
1. Representative Stewart McKinney has introduced
legislation (H.R. 2403) which would prohibit any person engaged
in private business from permitting, requiring, or requesting
any employee to take a polygraph test (Tab A). Representative
McKinney had introduced identical legislation in the
97th Congress (H.R. 6034).
2. It is the opinion of the Office of General Counsel
(OGC) and the undersigned that McKinney's bill could adversely
affect the Industrial Polygraph Program. Pursuant to that
program, the Agency polygraphs certain employees of Agency
contractors who have Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI)
access. The polygraph is confined to counterintelligence
issues. Because the McKinney bill would impose criminal
penalties on any private business entity that permits or
requires its employees to be polygraphed, it was felt that the
McKinney bill could either result in Agency contractors
discontinuing the polygraph program or being held legally
liable for permitting the polygraph program to continue.
3. In order to insure that the McKinney bill would not
affect the Industrial Polygraph Program, OGC recommended in
1980 that the bill be amended so as to exclude polygraph tests
administered by any organization within the Intelligence
Community to contractors or employees of contractors who are
selected to perform intelligence, counterintelligence, or
national security functions, or support of security duties
related to such functions, (See Tab B for actual amendatory
language). informs me that he and visited
Mr. McKinney's staff assistant in 1980 to discuss with him our
concerns. In the course of the meeting, it became clear that
McKinney did not intend for his bill to affect the Industrial
Polygraph Program, and the staff assistant agreed to insert the
amendatory language. No further action occurred on the bill in
the 97th Congress. When the bill was reintroduced in the 98th
Congress, it did not include the amendatory language.
believes that this could have been an oversight.
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4. Since OGC has already discussed this matter with an
individual on McKinney's staff,l/ I would recommend that we
revisit Mr. McKinney or his staff assistant to see if they
would still be willing to amend their bill to take care of our
concerns. It would be much easier to have the bill amended by
the original sponsor rather than other Congressmen who have
signed the "Dear Colleague" letter.
DISTRIBUTION:
Original - Addressee
1, - OLL Chrono
v~ - LEG File: Polygraphs
1 - 0 Signer
1 - D/OLL
(1 December 1983)
1/ Unfortunately) does not remember the name of the
staff assistant he spoke with, nor was a Memorandum For The
Record written concerning the meeting.
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98TH CONGRESS He R. 2403
1ST SESSION
To protect the rights of individuals guaranteed by the Constitution of the United
States and to prevent unwarranted invasion of their privacy by prohibiting
the use of polygraph equipment for certain purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 5,1J83
Mr. McKINNEY introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the
Committees on the Judiciary and Education and Labor
A BILL
To protect the rights of individuals guaranteed by the Constitu-
tion of the United States and to prevent unwarranted inva-
sion of their privacy by prohibiting the use of polygraph
equipment for certain purposes.
1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
2 Lives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 That this Act may be cited as the "Polygraph Control and
4 Privacy Protection Act of 1983".
5 SEc. 2. It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in
6 any private business or other private activity in or affecting
7 interstate commerce, or any individual acting under the au-
8 thority of such person-
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1 (1) to permit, require, or request any officer or
2 employee employed by such person or any individual
3 seeking employment in connection with such business
4 or activity to take any polygraph test in connection
5 with such officer's, employee's, or individual's services
6 or duties or in connection with such officer's, employ-
7 ee's, or individual's application or consideration for
8 employment;
9 (2) to deny employment to any individual, or to
10 discharge, discipline, or deny promotion to any officer
11 or employee employed in connection with such business
12 or activity, or to threaten any such denial, discharge,
13 or discipline by reason of such officer's, employee's, or
14 individual's refusal or failure to submit to such require-
15 ment or request; or
16 (3) to accept or use the results of any polygraph
17 test in connection with the services or duties of any of-
18 ficer or employee employed in connection with such
19 business or activity,.or in connection with any individ-
20 ual's application or consideration for employment in
21 connection with such business or activity.
22 SEC. 3. (a) Whoever willfully violates or willfully at-
23 tempts to violate this Act shall be fined not more than
24 $1,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
HR 2403 IH
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1 (b) Whoever violates this Act shall be subject to a civil
2 penalty, payable to the United States, of not more than
3 $10,000.
4 SEC. 4. (a) Any individual who is or would be aggrieved
5 by a violation or threatened violation of this Act may bring a
6 civil action on such individual's own behalf, or on behalf of
7 such individual and others similarly situated, against the of-
8 fending person in the appropriate United States district court
9 and recover appropriate relief.
10 (b) With the written consent of any individual who is or
11 would be aggrieved by a violation or threatened violation of
12 this Act, any appropriate employee organization may bring
13 such a civil action on behalf of such individual, or may inter-
14 vene in any such civil action.
15 SEC. 5. As used in this Act the term-
16 (1) "polygraph test" means any examination ad-
17 ministered to an individual by mechanical, electrical, or
18 chemical means to measure or otherwise examine the
19 veracity or truthfulness of such individual; and
20 (2) "appropriate employee organization" means
21 any organization (including any brotherhood, council,
22 federation, union, or professional organization) made up
23 in whole or in part of employees and which has as a
24 purpose dealing with an employer concerning the con-
25 ditions and terms of employment of an individual
Z.
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1 against whom there is a violation or a threatened vio-
2 lation of this Act.
3 SEC. 6. This Act shall take effect thirty days after the
4 date of the enactment of this Act.
0
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