A call is being made for legislation in Jamaica to govern the administering of polygraph or lie detector tests in the workplace.
The call has come from Attorney at law Nicole Gordon, who was a guest on TVJ's All Angles Wednesday night.
It was revealed that the number of employers who rely on polygraph testing is increasing. The use is greater at the pre-employment level.
But Ms Gordon believes there needs to be an Employee Polygraph Protection Act. This, she said, would outline which industries would be subjected to polygraph testing.
"What it does is that it spells it out so people are clear about their rights. Employers would still have to understand that even if you conduct polygraph tests, you can't discard the main principle that undergirds employment, which is natural justice," she asserted.
"You still have to conduct your disciplinary hearing, you still have to ensure that principles of fairness and natural justice are followed. But we haven't spelt out and until we do, we're going to continue to have this kind of discussion,' continued Ms Gordon.
Her position was supported by Attorney Peter Champagnie, who pointed out that there is unequal bargaining power between employers and employees.
"What you have happening now is a situation where employers are under the misguided perception that the polygraph testing, in some instances, is the 'be all' and 'end all' to determining employment and that is wrong," he said.
"Yes, there should be, perhaps, policy guidelines in relation to certain industries and this is where, perhaps parliament needs to step in. But at the end of the day, is it is a very dangerous ground," highlighted the attorney.
Mr. Champagnie was also speaking on TVJ's All Angles on Wednesday.
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