A Kankakee County-based supplier of dehydrated fruits, vegetables and herbs has been served with a class action lawsuit, accusing it of violating an Illinois biometrics privacy law, for the way it requires its workers to verify their identity when punching the clock.
On March 25, attorneys with the firm of McGuire Law P.C. filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Silva International Inc.
The lawsuit was filed against the Momence-based company on behalf of named plaintiff Ralph F. Gonzalez III. The complaint identified Gonzalez solely as a resident of Illinois who worked for Silva International at its facility in Momence.
According to Silva’s website, the Momence facility is its headquarters and its only facility in North America. The company also operates crop procurement centers in China, Germany and Chile.
According to its website, Silva obtains crops from throughout the U.S. and the world, and then dehydrates them for use by food makers. Crops dehydrated include bell and chili peppers, carrots, apples, basil, black pepper, corn, onions, mushrooms and many others.
The lawsuit says Silva requires employees to scan biometric identifiers to verify their identity when logging their work hours. While the lawsuit does not specify which biometric identifiers were scanned, typically such biometric punch clocks require users to scan a fingerprint when punching in and out of work shifts.
However, the complaint alleges the company did not first obtain written authorization from workers, or provide them with written notices, required by the Illinois Biometric Information Protection Act (BIPA.)
The lawsuit seeks to expand the action to include a class of additional plaintiffs that could include virtually everyone who worked at Silva’s Momence plant.
The plaintiffs seek damages of $1,000-$5,000 per violation, plus attorney fees. In other BIPA cases, attorneys have indicated the law could be interpreted to define a violation as each time an employee scans a fingerprint when punching in or out. This could place the company at risk of millions of dollars in damages.
Hundreds of similar class action lawsuits have been filed against employers of all sizes and types in Illinois in the past few years under the 2008 BIPA law.
Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 20-CH-03514