Polygraph Examination Prohibited (employment)
Iowa Employee Polygraph Protection Law
Employees
Iowa bars employers from requesting, requiring, or administering lie detector tests to employees or job applicants as a condition of employment or benefits, or asking them to waive this protection. Employees who complain or testify are protected from retaliation.
- Where
- Iowa
- Citation
- Iowa Code 730.4
- Status
- In force
- Enforced by
- Aggrieved employees and applicants (civil action); county attorneys and the Attorney General (injunctions and criminal prosecution)
- People can sue
- Yes
- Penalties
- Simple misdemeanor with a minimum $250 fine (730.4(6)); civil liability for reinstatement or hiring, back pay, equitable relief, attorney fees and costs, and injunctions (730.4(5)).
- Applies to
- Employers, as to employees and applicants; limited exception for the state and political subdivisions hiring peace officers, corrections officers, and certain law enforcement agency positions (730.4(2)-(3))
Practices it requires
- Do not request or require an employee or applicant to take a polygraph examination, or administer or threaten one, as a condition of employment, promotion, change in status, or any benefit.Iowa Code 730.4(2)(a)-(b)
- Do not request or require a waiver of these protections.Iowa Code 730.4(2)(c)
- Do not retaliate against employees who in good faith file complaints or testify; wrongfully disciplined employees must be compensated and restored.Iowa Code 730.4(4)
Sources
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Original effective date (1983 Acts ch. 86) and the date of the latest amendment (2013 Acts ch. 30, s. 214, likely technical) not confirmed from session laws.
Research reference, not legal advice.