Harmon v. CB Squared Services

Ollie Harmon (plaintiff) was a customer-relations manager at a Jiffy Lube owned by CB Squared Services, Inc. (CB Squared) (defendant). Harmon told CB Squared that a competing Jiffy Lube had offered Harmon a job, which was a violation of the Jiffy Lube franchise agreement. When the other Jiffy Lube denied making the offer, CB Squared asked Harmon to take a polygraph (i.e., lie detector) test, and Harmon agreed. The only paperwork CB Squared gave Harmon about the polygraph test was a map to the test site. The day after Harmon took the test, CB Squared met with Harmon and told him that his results showed deception. Harmon refused to say anything further about the job offer, and CB Squared demoted and reassigned him. In response, Harmon said that he would resign in two weeks. Harmon claimed that CB Squared then fired him. Harmon sued CB Squared, alleging that it had violated the federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) in three separate ways: (1) by asking him to take the polygraph test, (2) by accepting and using the polygraph results during the demotion meeting, and (3) by demoting and firing him based on the polygraph results. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. CB Squared claimed that Harmon’s demotion was not based on the polygraph results and that it had merely accepted Harmon’s voluntary resignation and had not fired him. CB Squared also claimed that it was protected by the EPPA’s exemption for polygraphs given as part of an ongoing investigation into a business injury.