After describing the polygraph process, the article analyzes the constitutional implications of the government's use of polygraph testing in matters of employment and the availability of redress for misuse of polygraph testing in the private sector. Although scientific validity is comprised of several dimensions, the two major components are construct validity and criterion validity. In the polygraph context, construct validity addresses the extent to which the instrument accurately relates to deception rather than to other variables it is not supposed to measure. The physiological factors the polygraph measures can reflect variables other than deception. Criterion validity addresses the extent to which an instrument yields results sufficiently similar to those measured by independent means already proven valid. In polygraph testing, no acceptable alternative measure of deception exists, against which to evaluate the results of the polygraph. More disturbing than the technical and scientific pitfalls of polygraphs, however, is the compromise of human dignity inherent in the polygraph process. In using the polygraph purportedly to measure employees' deception, the government invades employees' privacy in flagrant disregard for human dignity and the powerful constitutional provisions designed to protect that dignity. 223 footnotes.