CHICAGO — A Cook County woman who worked for the Harris & Harris debt collection agency is suing her former employer over its use of a biometric time clock system that required fingerprint scans.
According to the Aug. 7 Cook County Circuit Court filing, Erica Flowers filed the class action suit against Harris & Harris LTD, alleging violation of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act.
Flowers said in the lawsuit that Harris & Harris' requirement for employees to use a biometric time clock that scanned fingerprints, which she alleged were collected, stored and shared with Harris & Harris' time-keeping vendor, was instituted without the company providing written information on the use and dissemination of their fingerprints or ask for their consent to capture their fingerprints.
The suit seeks damages of $1,000-$5,000 per violation, and an injuncrtion against Harris & Harris, as well as attorneys' fees and costs.
Attorneys for the plaintiff and class 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-9123