CHICAGO — A group of Chicago nursing homes and rehabilitation centers have been hit with a class action lawsuit, alleging they violated a state privacy law by making their employees scan their fingerprints when punching in and out of work shifts.
Brandon Watson, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a complaint on March 15 in Cook County Circuit Court against an affiliated group of corporate entities, including Legacy Healthcare Financial Services LLC, Legacy Healthcare Lincoln Park Skilled Nursing Facility LLC, Warren Barr Lincoln Park, The Grove at Lincoln Park and South Loop Skilled Nursing Facility LLC, Warren Barr South Loop.
The companies operate five rehab facilities under the name "Warren Barr," including four in Chicago and one in Lincolnshire.
According to the complaint, Watson worked for Warren Barr from December 27, 2012, to February 21, 2019, in the Warren Barr Lincoln Park facility. The complaint alleges the defendants made employees scan their fingerprints on a biometric time clock for tracking their hours worked for payroll purposes. The lawsuit alleges workers were never told what information the defendant was keeping and that the defendant failed to inform the plaintiff that they were retaining this information, in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.
The plaintiff is seeking statutory damages of $1,000-$5,000 per violation, plus attorney fees and court costs. The plaintiff is represented by Alejandro Caffarelli and Alexis D. Margin of Caffarelli & Associates Ltd., in Chicago.
Circuit Court of Cook County Case No. 2019-CH-03425