A Wheeling man has brought a class action lawsuit against the Indeck Power Equipment Company for allegedly violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
Plaintiff and class representative Matthew LaPrade has accused the company of breaking the law in the way it required employees to scan their fingerprints when clocking in and out for their time worked.
The lawsuit asserts companies using fingerprints or other so-called biometric data for timekeeping or any other purpose are required by BIPA to first provide written statements of intent to collect, store and use the data, then obtain written consent to do so from the employees, and offer a publicly available policy regarding the retention and destruction of biometric information in a database.
LaPrade, a former employee of the heavy equipment company, alleges that the defendant violated BIPA by not informing him or other workers of their intent with his biometric data, not obtaining written consent, and not offering a data retention policy.
The lawsuit seeks damages of $1,000-$5,000 in damages from Indeck for each alleged violation of BIPA. The law has been interpreted to define individual violations as each time an employee scans their fingerprint or other biometric identifier without the required notice or consent.
The plaintiff and class are represented by attorney Carl V. Malmstrom, of the firm of Wolf, Hadenstein, Alder, Freeman and Herz, of Chicago; and attorneys Joseph I. Marchese, Philip L. Fraietta and Julia K. Venditti, of the firm of Bursor and Fisher, of New York and Walnut Creek, Calif.
The lawsuit was filed Feb. 19 in Cook County Circuit Court.