Are Fingerprint Time Clocks Legal in Illinois?

Fingerprint time clocks may be legal in Illinois as long as employers adhere to guidelines set out in the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Are Fingerprint Time Clocks Legal in Illinois?

In the modern age of employment, many employers use biometric technology such as fingerprint scans with time clocks. By asking employees to use fingerprint, hand, or retina scans to punch in and out of work, employers can decrease the chance that workers will commit wage theft. Although this helps to ensure that people are not making time clock entries for others, employers are gathering sensitive biometric information.

Fingerprint time clocks are legal in Illinois, provided that employers treat the sensitive information with the respect it is owed under the law. In Illinois, guidelines for the storage of biometric information is laid out in the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act.

What is the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act?

Biometrics are defined as identifiers that are based on a person’s physical characteristics. This includes retina scans, voice prints, facial scans, fingerprints, and more. Things such as writing samples, signatures, demographics, and physical descriptions, are not considered to be biometrics.

With other identifiers, such as a person’s social security number, changes can be made if the identifiers are compromised. However, a person only gets one set of biometrics. This means that, if biometrics are compromised, consumers are unable to change them to protect themselves from identity theft.

Due to the delicate nature of biometric identifiers, Illinois enacted the Biometric Information Privacy Act in 2008 to protect the sensitive information.

“Despite limited state law regulating the collection, use, safeguarding, and storage of biometrics, many members of the public are deterred from partaking in biometric identifier-facilitated transactions. The full ramifications of biometric technology are not fully known,” Illinois legislature notes.

“The public welfare, security, and safety will be served by regulating the collection, use, safeguarding, handling, storage, retention, and destruction of biometric identifiers and information.”

The Biometric Information Privacy Act sets guidelines for the collection and storage of biometric information. Under the law, companies must adhere to the following requirements when dealing with biometrics:

• Obtain consent from individuals before collecting or disclosing their biometric identifiers. Consent must be given in a written form. Companies are required to inform individuals why and for how long their biometrics will be collected and/or stored.
• Securely store collected biometric identifiers.
• Destroy any collected biometrics in a timely manner. Typically, a schedule of storage and destruction is provided when gaining consent from individuals.

Upon passing the Biometric Information Privacy Act, Illinois became the first state to pass a law to protect consumers’ biometric information. Although other states have since followed suit, Illinois still remains the only state which lets individuals seek compensation for violations. Private citizens can seek up to $5,000 if companies or employers violate their rights under the law.

Companies such as Facebook, Shutterfly, Google, and others have resulted in lawsuits and class action lawsuits under the Illinois law for alleged violations.

Join a Free Illinois Biometric Data Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you are a current or former resident of Illinois and had your biometric information scanned and stored without your consent while living in the state, you may qualify to join an Illinois biometric data privacy class action lawsuit investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented 
for informational purposes only.