Kim Gale  |  September 14, 2019

Category: Legal News

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An Illinois man alleges his former employer violated the Biometric Information Privacy Act in its use of a biometric fingerprint scanner.An Illinois man has filed a lawsuit alleging his employer failed to obtain his permission to collect and catalog his personal information through a biometric fingerprint scanner.

Plaintiff David A. Chavez says he began working for Temperature Equipment Corporation in June 2012. During the onboarding process, David says he was required to place his fingers on a fingerprint scanner for the scanning and collection of a digital copy of his fingerprint, which was stored in an electronic database.

Until his employment at Temperature Equipment ended in March 2017, David said he had to place his finger on a scanner that scanned, collected and stored his fingerprint as a way to clock him in and out of the timekeeping system. According to the biometric fingerprint scanner complaint, each time David scanned his fingerprint, the print was compared to the originally stored fingerprint. Once the system deemed that David was the person whose fingerprint was in the system, he was able to begin work.

Allegations of Biometric Fingerprint Scanner Lawsuit

The state of Illinois passed the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) in 2008. The law is designed to protect the privacy of the state’s citizens who may be requested to submit biometric markers for identity confirmation purposes. Fingerprints, retinal scans, voiceprints, facial scans and other physical traits that define an individual are collectively known as biometrics.

According to the complaint, Temperature Equipment did not follow the letter of the law, which requires the following:

  • The business notified the person in writing that biometrics will be obtained and/or stored.
  • The business must inform the person in writing of the reason and period of time the biometrics will be collected, used and stored.
  • The business must have the person sign a written release that it’s permissible to obtain their biometric information.

Temperature Equipment is accused of violating all three requirements and of failing to have a publicly available written policy regarding the guidelines and schedule for the retention and permanent destruction of a person’s biometrics.

David is seeking class action status of his lawsuit, which would include possibly hundreds of employees and former employees who had their fingerprints scanned, collected and stored by Temperature Equipment at the Illinois location.

Earlier Judicial Decision This Year

In January, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in another biometrics case that “an individual need not allege some actual injury or adverse effect, beyond violation of his or her rights under the Act, in order to qualify as an ‘aggrieved’ person and be entitled to seek liquidated damages and injunctive relief pursuant to the Act.”

The court said the protections intended by BIPA “are particularly crucial in our digital world” because a person’s unique physical biometric identifiers can’t be altered if they are misused or someone gains access to them.

In the event someone attempts malfeasance by using someone else’s employee badge number, at least the victimized employee can obtain a new badge number. An employee can’t obtain a new fingerprint or a modified retinal scan result.

The Biometric Fingerprint Scanner Lawsuit is David A. Chavez v. Temperature Equipment Corporation in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, County Department, Chancery Division.

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.

Learn More

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

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