Government Refreshes Lie Detector Ban Paperwork Rules
Published Date: 7/27/2026
Notice
Summary
The Department of Labor (Department) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension of the information collection request (ICR) titled, "Employee Polygraph Protection Act." This comment request is part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The Department proposes to extend its information collection without change to existing requirements. This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. A copy of the proposed information request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this Notice.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Worker Protection Against Polygraphs
The Employee Polygraph Protection Act prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests for pre-employment screening or during employment, while exempting federal, state, and local government employers and certain limited private exemptions (e.g., national security contractors, reasonable-suspicion investigations of workplace incidents, some security firms, and some firms handling controlled substances). The Wage and Hour Division may assess civil money penalties against employers who violate the EPPA, and those penalty amounts increase annually under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015.
Employers Keep EPPA Record Duties
The Department proposes to extend, without change, the information collection that requires employers to make, maintain, and preserve records under the Employee Polygraph Protection Act. The notice lists 164,000 total respondents, 757,400 annual responses, an estimated 68,779 total burden hours, an estimated time per response of 30–45 minutes, and total respondent burden costs of $3,614,475.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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