Food distribution company Performance Food Group has been hit with a class action lawsuit, alleging the company has violated Illinois biometric privacy laws by using face-scanning cameras to monitor workers on the job.
Plaintiff Ramon Pickens filed a class action lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against Performance Food Group, alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
According to court documents, Pickens is an employee of Performance Food Group, a food distribution company based in Virginia, which operates several facilities in Illinois. He claims that the company uses biometric cameras to monitor the work of employees. The company allegedly has a separate biometric camera for each employee that scans and stores their facial geometry.
The lawsuit states that BIPA laws require that prior to collecting biometric data, including facial geometry scans, companies must inform employees in writing that biometric data will be collected and stored. It also states that employees must be informed in writing of the specific purpose of why the biometric data is being collected and how long it will be stored, and companies must receive a written release from employees for the collection of biometric data.
Pickens claims that Performance Food Group failed to inform employees in writing that their data was being collected and stored; failed to inform employees in writing how the data would be used and how long the data would be stored; failed to obtain employee consent to collect their biometric data; failed to provide employees with access to a retention schedule or guidelines for permanently destroying their biometric data; and failed to disclose the identities of any third parties that the company was directly or indirectly sharing the biometric data with.
Pickens is seeking certification of his class action lawsuit to represent individuals whose biometrics were scanned into Performance Food Group's system. He is seeking damages of $1,000–$5,000 per alleged violation for himself and everyone in the class action lawsuit, plus interest, attorney's fees, court costs and other relief. He is represented by attorneys William H. Beaumont and Roberto Luis Costales, of Beaumont Costales LLC, in Chicago.