Phoenix company fined for firing employee over polygraph test

PHOENIX – A Phoenix-based bath and kitchen remodeling company was fined and ordered to pay lost wages for firing an employee accused of being high over a lie detector test, authorities said Monday.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) said Diamond Kitchen & Bath Inc. violated federal regulations by asking the worker to submit to a polygraph. The test was requested after a client told the company the employee appeared to be under the influence of marijuana when he showed up to work.

The employee was fired after failing to appear for the test.

The WHD said Diamond could have required a drug test after the complaint was filed, but it wasn’t legally allowed to require the polygraph under the Employee Polygraph Protection Act.

As a result, the company was ordered to pay the worker $15,000 in lost wages plus $15,000 in civil penalties.

“The U.S. Department of Labor provides many tools to help employers comply with the law and understand how to avoid costly violations like those in this case,” Eric Murray, WHD district director in Phoenix, said in a press release.

“We encourage employers and employees with questions about any of their workplace rights or responsibilities to call us to speak confidentially with a trained Wage and Hour Division professional.”

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act dictates that lie detector tests can be requested only when a worker is suspected of misconduct that harms the employer economically, according to the release.

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