The owners of the last remaining Bennigan's restaurant franchise in Illinois have been served with a class action lawsuit, accusing them of violating Illinois' biometrics privacy law by requiring workers to scan their fingerprints when punching the clock.
The lawsuit, filed May 9 in Cook County Circuit Court, accuses Fullwel Management III Inc. of allegedly violating the the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA.) Fullwel Management does business as Bennigan's of Elgin.
The plaintiff, Tara Karijolic, who allegedly worked at the Elgin restaurant, has filed the suit on behalf of herself and other similarly situated individuals. The suit alleges that Fullwel Management breached BIPA by capturing, collecting, storing, disseminating and using the biometrics of its employees without their informed written consent.
According to BIPA, private entities must inform individuals in writing before collecting or storing their biometric identifiers or information. They must also disclose the specific purpose and duration for which such data will be used and obtain a written release from the individual. In addition to this, they are required to make publicly available written retention guidelines for permanently destroying biometric identifiers and information.
Karijolic seeks damages of $1,000-$5,000 per violation, as allowed under BIPA, as well as an injunction requiring Fullwel Management III Inc. to comply with BIPA and attorneys’ fees. Damages would be multiplied across the entire workforce, potentially pushing damages into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorney Mark Hammervold, of Hammervold Law, of Elmhurst.
Bennigan's, a once popular casual dining chain, now has only the Elgin location remaining in Illinois.