Everything you want to know about employee polygraph tests

Lie detector tests, have been all over the news lately. Reports suggest that Donald Trump wants to administer these examinations to the entire White House staff to identify the author of the anonymous New York Times op-ed.

There are no laws prohibiting the White House from using polygraphs in this manner. The federal law that regulates their use in the workplace—the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988—does not apply to the government.

For private-sector employers, however, the EPPA imposes strict prohibitions on the use of any device to render a diagnostic opinion as to the honesty or dishonesty of an individual.

Do you really want to be the employer that bans your employees from wearing Nike products?

Last week, Nike launched its new ad campaign featuring (former) NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He's most famous for being the first NFL player to kneel during the national anthem. As a result, he's become a lightning rod around our national conversation about race relations. He claims the NFL has blackballed him because of his outspokenness on the issue.

WIRTW #522 (the “back to school” edition)

If your kids go back to school and you don't post photographic evidence, does it count?

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First day of school: 7th and 4th grades. Also, I've officially entered the "Dad, you're embarrassing me" years.

A post shared by Jon Hyman (@jonhyman) on Aug 22, 2018 at 5:09am PDT

Here's what I read this week:

Compliance-by-carrot trumps compliance-by-stick

Democratic administrations are about enforcement.
Republican administrations are about education.

The endgame is still enforcement, but each side approaches this goal very differently.

This dichotomy might be an oversimplification, but, in at least in contrasting the Obama Administration to the Trump Administration, it is very true.

The FLSA's exemptions are becoming more "fair" for employers

In Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, the Supreme Court ruled that overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act "are to be given a 'fair reading,' meaning they are not to be construed too narrowly" (as had historically been the case).

The Court applied this "fair reading" standard to conclude that automobile service advisors are exempt under the FLSA's automobile-service exemption.

Training won't fix stupid

A fast-food restaurant fired a recently hired employee after its manager learned she was pregnant.

How do we know this was the manager's reason for the termination? Because he texted it to the employee (which she later posted on Facebook).

WIRTW #521 (the “master of my domain” edition)

What's the top employee issue that makes HR folks queasy? Drugs? Sex? Pornography?

According to Robin Schooling, the worst conversation to have with an employee is about sexual self-pleasuring at work.

What's the most uncomfortable conversation you've ever had with an employee? Please share in the comments below.


Here's what else I read this week: