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COOK COUNTY RECORD

Friday, March 29, 2024

Class action accuses St. George Logistics of violating IL biometrics law by making workers scan fingerprints

Lawsuits
Biometrics

CHICAGO — A former safety director at St. George Logistics alleges the company violated the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by requiring employees and temporary staff to scan their fingerprints to verify their identity when punching the business' time clock system.

Candice Garcia, on behalf of herself and all other persons similarly situated, filed a class action suit Oct. 16 in Cook County Circuit Court against Apple Zebra CFS LLC and St. George Warehouse of Illinois Inc., both doing business as St. George Logistics, alleging the company violated BIPA when it began using the biometric time clock system around 2016.

"....there’s equally no question that the defendants placed workers at risk by using their biometric identifiers to 'punch the clock,'" the suit states. "Defendants collected, stored, used, and transferred the unique biometric fingerprint identifiers, or information derived from those identifiers, of the plaintiff and others similarly situated without following the detailed requirements of the Biometric Information Privacy Act." 

The lawsuit accuses the company of not securing authorization from workers before requiring them to scan their fingerprints to operate the punch clock. The lawsuit also accuses the company of not providing written notices concerning the fingerprint scans, as allegedly required by the BIPA law.

Garcia, who worked as Apple Zebra's safety director in Elk Grove Village from October 2012 to March 2018, also alleges her fingerprint information was "disseminated and disclosed" to the timekeeping vendor without her consent and as a condition of employment. 

The plaintiff and the class, which includes more than 50 members, according to the suit, seek damages of $1,000-$5,000 per violation, as allowed by BIPA, plus attorney fees and other costs. 

Garcia is represented by attorneys Douglas Werman, Maureen Salas, Zachary Flowerree, Sarah Arendt and Jacqueline Villanueva of Werman Salas PC in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court case number 2019CH12008 

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