can understand your concern that an applicant for a position may be adversely affected because of mechanical inadequacies or unprofesBut we are asking you to balance sional operation of these devices. the equities of the situation. A single act of violence against a child entrusted to our care or to a housewife bowling in one of our centers should surely outweigh the inconvenience to a job applicant. An error in the utilization or interpretation of a polygraph can be corrected. The applicant can still work elsewhere. The history of the types of assaults we have noted is not comparable in long-range traumatic effect. We feel strongly that our clientele would be exposed to great danger if we were denied the use of a polygraph. We do ask the Committee to take these matters into consideration and to allow our members to continue to conduct their business with some assurance that we can protect our clientele as we have in the past. Thank you for allowing me to present this testimony on behalf of the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America. Lewis PO Box 8979 Greemboro NC 2741979 BARNETT L GERSHEN Associated Building Service 1910 Napoleon Houston TX -001 WILLIAM J. KEARINS. III CBSE IMS Kayward Inc 153 Lowell Street PO Box 70 Bryant Street San Francisco CA 94107 JAMES F WINANS CBSE Winans White Glove Maintenance inc JOHN H. BECHTEL CBSE Brandt & Axate inc THOMAS E CHASE CBSE BOBBY LOWERY, OBSE Green Bay WT 92507 1908 A. A The Building Service Contractors Association International is very interested in the "Polygraph Protection Act" (S. 1815) and similar legislation (H.R.1524/H.R.3916) pending in the House of Representatives. BSCA International is an association of companies predominantly involved in the contracting of janitorial services. Additionally, our industry provides a variety of services to office buildings, industrial plants, hospitals, homes, and virtually every type of building. We are concerned about and oppose S.1815 as well as H.R.1524, which is Contractors in our industry are faced with a unique problem that can be While we cannot claim that it never occurs, there are occasional occurences, We can address this problem through the use of polygraph testing. Contractors must make every effort to prevent theft by hiring honest employees and then by providing proper training and supervision, otherwise the MEXICO contractor could not remain in business. However, when disappearances UNKE UPPER and theft do occur and our employees are suspected, contractors in states Rindik PO B Amsterdam AL THE NETHERLANDS Executive Vice President CAROL A DEAN March 4, 1986 Senator Orrin Hatch in which polygraph testing is permitted can make use of the testing in order to prove the innocence of and exonerate their employees. For that reason polygraph testing can be a valuable tool for building service contractors and their employees. As indicated above we oppose any efforts to ban the use of polygraph testing as proposed in S.1815 and H.R.1524. We do support many of the measures proposed in H.R.3916, which is also pending in the House. Because polygraph testing is valuable within our industry we feel it must be administered properly to be effective. Also, we feel that the rights of the individuals being tested must be protected, and we support proposals to these ends. H.R.3916 is such a proposal. It would allow the use of testing but would regulate it and provide individuals with essential protections. This proposal would make testing voluntary on the part of the individual being tested; would prohibit questions regarding beliefs on religion, race, politics, sexual preference, and union attitudes; would allow the examinee to terminate the test at any time and to be entitled to a signed copy of all opinions or conclusions of the test; and would prevent an employer from taking action regarding the employment status of an employee based solely on opinions and conclusions of a polygraph examiner. Also, the bill would establish very sound standards for polygraph examinations and examiners. However, we object to the provision that would provide to the examinee prior to the test all questions, in written form, to be asked. Such a practice would dilute the effectiveness of the testing by allowing the examinees to prepare for the questions. With this exception we feel that H.R.3916 is a good alternative to an outright ban on polygraph testing in the private sector. For the reasons stated above we urge that the Labor and Human Resources Committee reject S.1815 and H.R.1524 and any attempts by the federal government to prohibit polygraph testing. Rather, we recommend that the Committee review and accept the sound principles offered in H.R.3916, which are designed to protect the rights of employees and to improve the quality of polygraph testing while allowing individual state governments the authority to rule on the legality of its use. D Designer Jewels, Inc. 400 WESTERN BANK BUILDING 5433 WESTHEIMER HOUSTON, TEXAS 77056 PHONE AC/713 623-6996 April 7, 1986 SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND HUMAN RESOURCES 428 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20510 Attn: Chairman Orrin G. Hatch Dear Chairman Hatch: We are a very small business with less than ten employees. Because of a very bitter experience several years ago, we began the pre-employment polygraph test. In the past several years, we have been shocked to learn some of the bad facts of life of potential employees. For instance, a charming, skilled young lady whose two-year previous employer raved about was found to be his "silent partner" a thief as well as a habitual drug addict. And then there was the young skilled mechanical jeweler, who in the previous five years stole from everyone the jewelry firm, his original employer and even his own brother who was helping him by employing him! We are not concerned with the after hours social, political or cultural pleasures of our employees. We have enjoyed hiring people of every major race, creed, color and of both sexes for many years and plan to continue doing so in the future. Thankfully, we have a very low turnover rate. The use of this pre-employment screening tool, the polygraph test, is absolutely PRICELESS to our company. If it's O.K. for Uncle Sam, why not this tax-paying, ex-veteran citizen? Very truly, HR Landly H. ROBERT SANDLER DESIGNER JEWELS, INC. HRS: av DIAMONDS INTERNATIONAL AWARD FARADAY NATIONAL CORPORATION 13854 Park Center Road, Herndon, Virginia 22071 A Member of The De La Rue Group of Companies April 15, 1986 Gentlemen: My name is Clare Stanford. I am president of Faraday National Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of The De La Rue Company, plc. Faraday National is located at 13854 Park Center Road in Herndon, Virginia. The primary business of Faraday National is the manufacturing and personalizing of plastic cards for financial institutions in all of the United States. These cards are typically MasterCard, VISA, or private label Automatic Teller Machine cards. The essence of our successful relationships is complete customer confidence in the confidentiality and security of our operation. For the past 15 years, we have screened all potential employees using a state licensed polygrapher. a year all employees are rescreened. In addition, once The officers of the company are given the polygraph test first, and then all other employees are tested. We have found the polygraph test to be extremely useful in identifying current drug users and persons who have falsified CARD DATA UTILITIES · COMPUTER SERVICES • LAMILUX · INSTANT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS |