29 U.S.C. § 2001
Section 2001 · Definitions
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 44 court decisions — leading case 7 Cal. 4th 1 - Hill v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn. (1994)
Most recently applied in Wood v. Evergreen Condominium Ass'n (July 2021)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment and consequential amendments — watch for a citation surge after a change. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
As used in this chapter:
(1) Commerce
The term “commerce” has the meaning provided by section 203(b) of this title.
(2) Employer
The term “employer” includes any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee or prospective employee.
(3) Lie detector
The term “lie detector” includes a polygraph, deceptograph, voice stress analyzer, psychological stress evaluator, or any other similar device (whether mechanical or electrical) that is used, or the results of which are used, for the purpose of rendering a diagnostic opinion regarding the honesty or dishonesty of an individual.
(4) Polygraph
The term “polygraph” means an instrument that—
(A) records continuously, visually, permanently, and simultaneously changes in cardiovascular, respiratory, and electrodermal patterns as minimum instrumentation standards; and
(B) is used, or the results of which are used, for the purpose of rendering a diagnostic opinion regarding the honesty or dishonesty of an individual.
(5) Secretary
The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Labor.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Effective Date
Section 11 of Pub. L. 100–347 provided that:
“(a) In General.—Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act [enacting this chapter] shall become effective 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act [June 27, 1988].
“(b) Regulations.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue such rules and regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out this Act.”
Short Title
Section 1 of Pub. L. 100–347 provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988’.”