Attempt to defeat the accuracy of a polygraph test results in removal of the candidate’s name from the eligible list

Attempt to defeat the accuracy of a polygraph test results in removal of the candidate’s name from the eligible list
2013 NY Slip Op 06682, Appellate Division, Second Department

The name of an individual [Candidate] seeking appointment as a Suffolk County Police Officer was removed from the eligible list certified for such employment.

Candidate filed a petition pursuant to CPLR Article 78 seeking a court order restoring his name to the eligible list. Supreme Court dismissed Candidate’s petition and the Appellate Division affirmed its ruling.

According to the Appellate Division’s decision, Candidate’s name was removed from the eligible list based on the opinions of several experts who reviewed the results of Candidate’s pre-employment polygraph [lie detector] examination. These experts concluded that Candidate had “deliberately engaged in the use of countermeasures in an attempt to improperly influence the results of the examination.”

The Appellate Division held that the employer reliance on the opinions of these experts was neither irrational nor arbitrary.

Further, said the court, Candidate failed to present any evidence demonstrating that the determination to remove his name from the eligible list lacked a rational basis or was arbitrary and capricious. 

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2013/2013_06682.htm
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