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COOK COUNTY RECORD

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Marriott tagged with biometrics class action over worker fingerprint scans

State Court
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Nick Larry | Nick Larry Law

A class action lawsuit has accused hotelier Marriott of allegedly violating Illinois' biometrics privacy law by requiring workers to scan their fingerprints when punching the clock at work.

In the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Marriott Hotel Services LLC has been accused of violating Illinois' Biometrics Information Privacy Act (BIPA). 

The suit was filed by Marlon Barnes, on behalf of himself and other workers, alleging that Marriott collected and disclosed their biometric data without proper notice or consent. 

According to the complaint, Marriott required its hourly workers to clock in and out of shifts using a fingerprint scanner connected to the company's timekeeping and payroll system. The data collected by this system allegedly was then stored on servers belonging to Marriott's timekeeping vendor, Kronos Inc. 

Barnes claims that Marriott did not adequately explain the system to its workers nor inform them about how long the data would be kept. 

Barnes is seeking to expand the action to include a group of additional plaintiffs including everyone who has worked for Marriott in Illinois since 2019.

Plaintiffs are seeking damages of $1,000-$5,000 per violation, as allowed under the BIPA law, multiplied across the entire class, meaning damages can quickly climb into the many millions of dollars.

Barnes is represented by attorney J. Dominick Larry, of the firm of Nick Larry Law, of Chicago.

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