A state worker who flunked a polygraph test he was required to take when his agency merged with the Colorado Department of Public Safety said he was accused of using “countermeasures” to try to influence the outcome.
As a result, Phil Deeds said he wasn’t allowed to work at the Port of Entry after it became part of Public Safety and that he sat at home collecting a paycheck for about three weeks in July.
“They kept telling me, ‘You’re breathing weird. I think you’re lying to me,’ ” Deeds said of the polygraph test. “I said, ‘No, I’m not.’ “
The 34-year-old Lakewood man said he was allowed to retake the polygraph Thursday. He said he won’t learn of any decision until next week.
Deeds is on temporary assignment with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
He is one of 15 state employees in limbo because they were not able to meet a Public Safety requirement that its workers pass a criminal check and a polygraph test. The state originally said 19 workers were affected but released the revised figure of 15 on Thursday.
The Denver Post reported that the workers in question were originally hired by state agencies that didn’t require the polygraph or criminal check but that those operations this year were folded into the Department of Public Safety.
The state has worked to find other jobs in other departments for the 15 employees, and as of Thursday all have received at least temporary assignments.
The issue infuriated many online readers.
“These workers should have been fired and replaced with honest citizens,” one person wrote.
Public Safety spokesman Lance Clem said some employees simply declined to go through the process, “like people who travel by train or car because they don’t like the airport security screening.”
He added there was a misunderstanding about the department’s use of the test.
“People who apply are not on trial when they apply for a job here,” he said. “The polygraph is part of the process used to determine whether a person could be hired.”
Jim Davis, director of Public Safety, said some employees who were deemed to have provided deceptive answers or used countermeasures during their polygraphs were brought back for another test “in an attempt to determine what the issue is.”
He did not have the exact number retested.
In some cases, the question that was a problem revolved around drug use, he said.
“What we did say on several occasions is if you are willing to stop using marijuana — you cannot use marijuana and work for the Department of Public Safety — then we’ll hire you on a probationary basis and understand we will test you a couple of times over the next year,” Davis said.
At least one person then refused the transfer and at least one promised to give up smoking pot, he said. Again, he did not have exact numbers.
“We’re trying to be reasonable here,” Davis said. “The failure of a polygraph exam or deception on a polygraph exam in and of itself is not enough to keep a person from being transferred into the Department of Public Safety.”
But lawyer David Lane was critical of polygraph tests, saying, “Law enforcement is in love with polygraphs, and I’m not sure why.”
“I think liars can pass polygraphs and truth-tellers can fail polygraphs,” he said. “That’s why they’re not admissible in court.”
Four state agencies — the Port of Entry, the Division of Emergency Management, Homeland Security and the firefighting component of the state Forest Service — were moved from other operations under the Department of Public Safety. Most mergers were effective July 1.
“We were told, ‘Hey, you know what, this merger is not going to affect you guys; it’s going to be a smooth transition,’ ” Deeds said. “In April, we were told, ‘Hey, before you arrive, you need to pass this polygraph and this background check.’ I didn’t have a problem for the most part.”
Until, of course, he found out the results.
Deeds said his goal is to return to work as a Port of Entry officer, although the Department of Regulatory Affairs on Thursday informed him of a job possibility.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327, lbartels@denverpost.com or
