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Privacy rights — North Carolina

Employers and polygraph testing

The federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) makes it unlawful for most private employers to require or request employees or job applicants to take lie detector tests. EPPA identifies:

  • activities that are prohibited
  • employers that are exempt from EPPA’s prohibition
  • the manner in which exempt private employers must administer lie detector tests
  • minimum qualifications for polygraph examiners
  • sanctions for noncompliance with EPPA.

North Carolina has no separate law governing lie detector use in the workplace.

EPPA makes it unlawful for most private employers to:

  • require, request, suggest or cause any employee or job applicant to take any lie detector test
  • use, accept, refer to or inquire into any employee or applicant’s lie detector test results
  • discharge, discipline, discriminate against, deny employment or promotion or retaliate in any manner against any employee or job applicant: