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Illinois-based Oberweis Dairy breaks biometric privacy laws by collecting staff fingerprints without consent, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois on May 24 by lead Plaintiff Faviola Casas, who alleges that the company, which makes milk, ice cream, cheese, and other dairy products, violates the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act.
Casas says that between May 2020 and March 2021, the company heightened her risk of loss and compromised her privacy and security by collecting her fingerprints without her consent or knowledge when she clocked in and out of work.
Like other employees, Casas was required to use a biometric time clock system to record her time worked, having to scan her fingerprints in Oberweis Dairy’s biometric time clock each time she started and finished working, the claim states.
According to the class action lawsuit, Oberweis Dairy used the system requiring employees’ “unique and permanent identifiers” to ensure one worker could not clock in for another.
“Thus, there’s no question that Defendant achieved a labor management benefit from using a biometric time clock,” the claim states. “But there’s equally no question that Defendant placed employees at risk by using their biometric identifiers to ‘punch the clock’.”
According to the class action lawsuit, Oberweis Dairy never provided Casas any written documentation stating that it was collecting, retaining, or disclosing her fingerprint or personal identifying information derived from her fingerprint.
“Defendant violated Plaintiff’s privacy by capturing or collecting her unique biometric identifiers and information and sharing those identifiers and information with its time keeping vendor, without her consent.”
Casas wants to represent anyone who worked at Oberweis Dairy in Illinois since 2016 and used its biometric system. She is suing for violations of the Biometric Information Privacy Act, and seeks damages, an order of enjoinment, and legal fees.
Earlier this month, Microsoft was also hit with a class action lawsuit in Illinois for allegedly violating the Biometric Information Privacy Act. The claim says that Microsoft collected and profited from Uber drivers’ biometric data, increasing drivers’ risks of fraud and identity theft without their knowledge or consent, by collecting and using Uber drivers’ facial biometrics through Uber mobile app’s verification feature.
Have you ever had to provide your biometric data for security purposes? Are you concerned about how it is managed? Let us know in the comments section!
Casas is represented by Douglas M. Werman, Zachary C. Flowerree, and Michael M. Tresnowski of Werman Salas P.C.
The Oberweis Dairy Biometric Data Violations Class Action Lawsuit is Casas v. Oberweis Dairy Inc., Case No. 2021-CH-02508, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Chancery Division.
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