The National Trade Union Bloc (BNS) demands a ban on the use of polygraph tests in recruitment processes, as it violates fundamental rights and exceeds legal limits.
“The SNB believes that polygraph testing violates fundamental rights and exceeds the legal limits of the recruitment process.
According to art. 26 of the Romanian Constitution, intimate, family and private life is protected, and art. 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees the right to respect for private life, any interference being allowed only under the conditions provided by law”. informs the NBS in a press release.
The SNB claims that the use of lie detectors in recruitment processes is illegal and discriminatory.
According to the organization, making employment conditional on accepting a polygraph test creates unfair treatment between candidates and is unrelated to their professional skills or ability to fill the position they are applying for.
“In labor relations, Article 29 paragraph (3) of the Labor Code provides that the employer can only request the information necessary to verify the professional skills and the candidate’s ability to fill the position.
Polygraph tests go beyond this framework and involve the processing of sensitive personal data, raising compatibility issues with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR). In addition, the candidate’s refusal to accept testing cannot constitute a criterion for exclusion from the recruitment process.”
The NBS points out that the law does not allow the use of lie detectors in employment in the private sector and that the polygraph test cannot determine with certainty whether a person is telling the truth.
“In this context, the NBS requests:
- The Labor Inspectorate to verify and sanction the use of polygraph tests in recruitment;
- the National Supervisory Authority for the Processing of Personal Data to analyze the legality of the data processing resulting from such tests;
- the National Council for Combating Discrimination to check whether the exclusion of candidates who refuse the test constitutes a discriminatory practice;
- To the Ministry of Labour, Family, Youth and Social Solidarity to promote legislative changes to expressly prohibit the use of polygraph tests in recruitment and to introduce sanctions for employers who condition employment on their acceptance.”
Last but not least, the SNB says that access to a job must be equal and non-discriminatory, and candidates must be assessed on the basis of their skills, experience and qualifications, not through intrusive methods such as lie detectors, which can affect a person’s dignity and fundamental rights.
