Wendy’s class action alleges company collects employees’ biometric information without consent

Wendy’s class action overview: 

• Who: Plaintiff Victor Chacon filed a class action lawsuit against Wendy’s International LLC.
• Why: The plaintiff claims Wendy’s collected biometric information through fingerprint scans as employees clocked in and out for work without informing employees.
• Where: The Wendy’s biometric information class action lawsuit was filed in chancery court in Cook County, Illinois.

A new class action lawsuit against Wendy’s claims the company collected and kept records of employees’ biometric information without their permission.

Plaintiff Victor Chacón’s lawsuit claims the company collected the information as employees clocked in and out for work hours in violation of Illinois law.

The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) says a private company cannot obtain an individual’s biometric information without informing the individual in writing that the information will be collected and stored, how long and why the information will be kept, having a signed release on the information and publicly publishing a retention schedule and the process for permanently destroying the information, the class action says.

“If defendants’ database of biometric information were to fall into the wrong hands, the individuals to whom these sensitive biometric identifiers belong could have their identities stolen,” the class action claims. 

Unlike other identification numbers or information, biometric information cannot be changed if the information is stolen, the Wendy’s biometric information class action claims.

Wendy’s employees asking for $5,000 in damages per instance in biometric information class action 

The plaintiff was a Wendy’s employee in Skokie, Illinois, in 2018 and 2019, and had his information collected for time card purposes; he says he was never informed that the information would be collected and stored.

The plaintiff is asking for $5,000 in damages for Wendy’s employees for violating BIPA or, if the court finds the violation was not willful, $1,000 in damages per infraction.

Wendy’s also faced a 2018 class action lawsuit claiming its fast food restaurant employees were required to scan their fingerprints to clock in and out of work, in violation of Illinois law.

Have you ever had to use your fingerprint to scan in for a work time card? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Michael L. Fradin of Fradin Law and James L. Simon of Simon Law Co.

The Wendy’s class action lawsuit is Chacon v. Wendy’s International LLC, Case No. 2023CH08074, in Cook County, Illinois, Chancery Court.

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