Two employees are filing a class action lawsuit against transportation and logistics company J.B. Hunt, alleging the company's use of biometric cameras to scan truck drivers' faces violates Illinois biometric privacy law.
Plaintiffs Carlos Brown and Harry Minor filed a class action lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against J.B. Hunt Transport, alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
According to court documents, Brown and Minor are current or previous employees of J.B. Hunt, which is based in Arkansas. They claim the company uses biometric cameras to monitor its employees. The company allegedly has a separate biometric camera for each employee that scans and stores their facial geometry.
The cameras are used to monitor drivers' physical condition, attentiveness and driving performance in real time, ostensibly in the name of safety.
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.
The plaintiffs claim that J.B. Hunt 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.
The plaintiffs are seeking certification of their class action lawsuit to represent individuals whose biometrics were scanned into J.B. Hunt's system. They are seeking damages of $1,000–$5,000 per alleged violation for themselves and everyone in the class action lawsuit, plus interest, attorney's fees, court costs and any other relief the court deems proper.
The costs from such BIPA-related class actions can quickly mount to potentially massive payouts. The Illinois Supreme Court has interpreted the BIPA law to allow plaintiffs to demand damages for each time an employer scans their biometrics at work, with no limit, going back over the preceding five years.
They are represented by attorneys William H. Beaumont and Roberto Luis Costales, of Beaumont Costales LLC, in Chicago.