Pepsi class action claims company collected employee’s biometric data without consent

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Pepsi employees class action overview: 

• Who: A former Pepsi employee is suing the company.
• Why: The plaintiff says Pepsi violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by collecting its employees’ voiceprints without their proper consent. 
• Where: The Pepsi employees class action was filed in a New York federal court.

A former Pepsi employee is suing the company alleging it violated the law by collecting its Illinois-based employees’ voiceprints without their proper consent. 

Plaintiff William Hoskin filed the class action lawsuit against PepsiCo Inc. on July 25 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

According to the lawsuit, Pepsi collected and used the voiceprints of thousands of employees and former employees who worked as “pickers” in its warehouses, and who were required to use voice-recognition software as they packaged items customers had purchased.

Pepsi allegedly violated BIPA as it did not get the required consent from its workers before using their voiceprints, the lawsuit states.

Pepsi did not ask workers’ consent to collect voiceprints, lawsuit alleges

Hoskin worked as an hourly employee at a Pepsi distribution center in Chicago as an order “picker” from approximately July 2010 to Aug. 2018, he says. 

He alleges Pepsi collected and used his voiceprint through the company requirement that pickers use Honeywell’s Vocollect Solutions technology. He says he was also required to use his voiceprint to check in and out of work each day, as well as to receive and conduct assignments. 

Despite this, Hoskin says he did not give his informed consent for the voiceprint to be used, collected and stored.

“By collecting Plaintiff’s unique biometrics without his consent, written or otherwise, Defendant invaded Plaintiff’s statutorily protected right to privacy in his biometrics and violated BIPA,” the lawsuit states.

“BIPA confers on Plaintiff and all other similarly situated Illinois residents a right to know of the risks that are inherently presented by the collection and storage of biometrics, and a right to know how long such risks will persist after using voice recognition software at one of Pepsi’s distribution centers.” 

As a result, Hoskin seeks to represent anyone who worked for Pepsi in Illinois and who used the Vocollect Technology, within the statute of limitations. He seeks certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.

Meanwhile, in January, Pepsi agreed to a $12.75 million settlement to resolve claims it failed to pay workers their full wages during a Kronos data breach. 

What do you think about the allegations against Pepsi in this case? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Joseph I. Marchese, Max S. Roberts and Neal J. Deckant of Bursor & Fisher P.A. 

The Pepsi class action lawsuit is William Hoskin et al., v. PepsiCo Inc., Case No. 7:23-cv-06413 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. 

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