Takeaways

• Under Massachusetts law, all job applications must contain a specific notice regarding the use of lie detector tests.
• It is unlawful for employers to require or administer lie detector tests as a condition of employment or continued employment.
• Employers should consider the suggested steps below to ensure compliance with the law.

Massachusetts law, G.L. c. 149, § 19B, makes it unlawful for an employer to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment.

In addition, the statute requires that all job applications “for employment within the Commonwealth” contain the following notice:

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

An employer that violates this law may be subject to fines and/or a private right of action for $500 in statutory damages “for each such violation,” among other things.

Although the law is decades old, a number of questions remains:

1. The statute’s wording leaves ambiguity regarding the scope of the private right of action. Does it apply only to individuals who are subjected to a “lie detector test,” or does it extend to anyone who completes an application without the required notice? In a 2016 case defended by Jackson Lewis attorneys, Judge Mitchell H. Kaplan of the Massachusetts Superior Court held that the statute’...

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