Adecco USA, a nationwide staffing and human resources agency, has been targted by a class action lawsuit for allegedly violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), according to court documents from Cook County Circuit Court.
The class representative is Edwin Enriquez, an employee who was staffed through Adecco.
According to the lawsuit, filed Jan. 14, Adecco requires workers to use biometric timeclocks to track their work hours, and to scan fingerprints when beginning and ending work shifts. The lawsuit asserts that using unique biometrics as the only means of employee identification leaves workers vulnerable to identity theft and hacking.
BIPA was founded to protect Illinois residents from breaches of their biometric data similar to those that have been occurring across the world since use of the data for security became popular. The suit says that Adecco's violations of BIPA include: not informing employees of the specific length and purpose for which their fingerprints were being stored; not offering a publicly available retention schedule and guidelines for storing fingerprints; not acquiring a written release from employees to collect and disseminate fingerprints; and not obtaining consent from the employee to disclose their fingerprints to a third party.
Under the BIPA law, plaintiffs can demand damages of up to $1,000 for negligent violations and up to $5,000 for intentional or reckless violations. Violations can be defined as each time a worker scans their fingerprints when punching the clock.
Plaintiffs are represented in the action by attorney James X. Bormes, of Chicago.