Lie detector tests, also known as polygraph tests, are not allowed in Ontario according to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). An employer or anyone acting on behalf of an employer is prohibited from requiring, requesting, enabling, or influencing an employee to take a lie detector test.
Employees in Ontario have the right to refuse to take a lie detector test and to not be asked to take one. It is also against the law for anyone to disclose to an employer that an employee has taken a lie detector test or to disclose the results of the test.
The use of lie detectors by the police is not affected by this part of the ESA. A person may be asked by a police officer to take a lie detector test and can consent to take the test if it is administered on behalf of a police force in Ontario or by a member of a police force in Ontario in the course of investigating an offence.
For example, if an employer in Ontario asks an employee to take a lie detector test as part of their hiring process, the employee has the right to refuse and the employer is not allowed to require the employee to take the test. If the employee does take the test, it is illegal for anyone to disclose the results of the test to the employer.
On the other hand, if a police officer in Ontario asks a person to take a lie detector test in the course of investigating an offence, the person can consent to take the test and it is not against the law for the test to be administered.
In conclusion, employment polygraph or lie detector tests are not allowed in Ontario according to the Employment Standards Act, 2000. Employees have the right to refuse to take a lie detector test and employers are not allowed to require or disclose the results of such tests.
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