A class action suit has been brought against NorthAmerican Concessions Inc., a company which operates various eateries at Midway International Airport in Chicago, for allegedly violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), according to documents filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
The lawsuit was filed by attorneys Paige L. Smith, James B. Zouras and Ryan F. Stephan, of the firm of Stephan Zouras LLP, of Chicago. It was filed on behalf of a class of NorthAmerican Concessions employees, led by named plaintiffs JohnJohn Ablay, Raquel Itzen and Jamie Lucero.
The plaintiffs allege that NorthAmerican Concessions, which uses scans of facial geometry for tracking employee work hours, violated the BIPA by not informing employees that their biometric data would be available to at least one third-party vendor, among other alleged violations.
The lawsuit accuses the employer of wrongfully collecting, storing and using employees' biometric data, without express consent or prior knowledge.
The complaint alleges NorthAmerican Concessions failed to inform workers of the intent of the use of biometrics, obtain prior consent before collecting and storing the data and provide policies that outline the storage and destruction procedure of the data if employment is terminated.
Under the BIPA law, plaintiffs can demand damages of $1,000-$5,000 per violation. Individual violations can be defined as each time an employee scanned their facial geometry to verify their identity while at work.