Kronos Class Action Lawsuit Settled For $15.3M

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Kronos Biometric Data Class Action Settlement Overview

• Why: The class action complaint accused Kronos of failing to comply with Illinois privacy laws by collecting workers’ biometric data without their consent and storing that data longer than is legal. 
• Who: Kronos Inc. will pay about $15.3 million to a settlement class of Illinois workers.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court.

Kronos Inc. reached a settlement agreeing to pay just under $15.3 million to thousands of workers who were allegedly harmed when the workforce management company collected and stored their fingerprints or palm prints in violation of Illinois privacy laws.  

The settlement has been submitted to the court for preliminary approval and class certification. The proposed settlement class includes all individuals who used Kronos biometric timekeeping devices at work in Illinois and whose finger-scan data “was hosted” by Kronos between Jan. 18, 2014, and 30 days after the deal’s preliminary approval.

Kronos has also agreed to notify its Illinois Kronos Cloud Customers that they are now required to establish a data retention and destruction schedule, notify the subjects of the collection in writing of the collection and storage of their data and their purposes and obtain a written release by the Illinois Kronos Cloud Customer and Kronos.

The proposed deal closes out this class action lawsuit but still leaves the door open for claims against employers who used Kronos’ finger-scan time clocks.

Kronos Settlement Class Can Receive Up to $580

Before making payments to the settlement class, the $15.3 million settlement fund will pay out no more than 33% of the fund to the lead attorneys. The two workers who filed the class action lawsuit, Charlene Figueroa and Jermaine Burton, will also receive $7,500 each. 

The settlement class includes approximately 171,643 affected workers. Depending on how many claims are filed, each member of the class may receive between $290 and $580 per person, according to court documents.

Any settlement checks or electronic payments that are unfulfilled within 120 days after issuance will be provided to Legal Aid Chicago and “earmarked for workers’ rights representation,” and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois ans “earmarked to… protect Illinoisans’ privacy rights.” The deal stipulates that none of the settlement fund will revert back to Kronos. 

If your Illinois employer used a Kronos finger-scan time clock, you might be a part of this settlement class!

The plaintiff is represented by Jay Edelson, Alexander Tievsky, J. Eli Wade-Scott and Benjamin Richman of Edelson PC; David J. Fish, John C. Kunze and Kimberly Hilton of The Fish Law Firm PC; and James B. Zouras, Ryan F. Stephan, Andrew C. Ficzko and Haley Jenkins of Stephan Zouras LLP.

The Kronos Biometric Data Class Action Lawsuit is Figueroa et al. v. Kronos Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-01306, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 

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