CHICAGO — A former employee of a River Forest Whole Foods store claims the supermarket chain is violating Illinois privacy law by requiring employees to scan their fingerprints into a biometric time clock.
According to the August 6 Cook County Circuit Court filing, Kenyatta Nichols and others filed a class action suit against Whole Foods Market Group Inc., alleging violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.
Nichols, who worked in Whole Foods' prepared food and deli department for four months, said the store required her to use a biometric time clock system in which employees have to scan their fingerprints to clock in and out of their shifts.
In her suit, Nichols said the use of the biometric time clock placed her and other employees at risk of identity theft and that their fingerprints "or a representation derived from" the fingerprints were given to Whole Foods' time-keeping vendor. Nichols also said Whole Foods did not ask for consent to use employees' fingerprints or provide information on the purpose or amount of time a "private entity" will have the employees' biometric identifiers and information.
Nichols seeks damages of $1,000-$5,000 per violation, plus attorneys' fees and costs. Attorneys for the plaintiff are Douglas Werman, Maureen Salas, Zachary Flowerree and Sarah Arendt with Werman Salas P.C., of Chicago.
Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2019-CH-9096