Kerry Biometric Timeclocks and Illinois BIPA Requirements Class Action

Kerry is a food company that has taken to using biometric timeclocks, at least in facilities in Illinois. But the complaint for this class action alleges Kerry collects, stores, and uses the fingerprints or other biometrics of its workers without meeting the requirements of an Illinois law known as the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

The class for this action is all nonunion individuals who had their fingerprints, biometric identifiers, or biometric information collected, captured, received, otherwise obtained, used, stored, or possessed by Kerry or at a Kerry facility in Illinois.

The plaintiff in this case, Maria Delgado, lives in Chicago and worked for Kerry at its facility in Elk Grove Village, Illinois as a packer or machine operator, from around August 17, 1996 until around March 26, 2020. She does not belong to a union, and the complaint suggests that this is true of some 200 other workers at the facility.

The complaint alleges that Delgado and others who are the class members for this action “were required to have their fingerprints collected and/or captured so that [Kerry] could store [them] and use [them] moving forward as a method of identification.”

Biometrics are different from other forms of identification in that they are unique and irreplaceable. If credit cards are stolen, for example, their owners can get new credit cards with different numbers. But if fingerprints are stolen, people cannot get new fingers with different prints.

For this reason, Illinois passed BIPA, a law that, among other things, requires that private entities who wish to collect, store, or use biometrics do certain things.

• They must develop a publicly-available retention schedule which includes guidelines for permanently destroying the biometrics.
• They must tell the subjects in writing that their biometrics are being collected.
• They must tell the subjects in writing of the specific purpose and length of time for which their biometrics will be collected, stored, and used.
• They must receive a written authorization from the subjects before they collect, capture, or otherwise store their biometrics.

The complaint alleges, “[u]pon information and belief,” that Kerry did not develop the retention policy or make publicly available any such schedule or guidelines. According to the complaint, the company did not give Delgado written information about their collection, storage, or use of biometrics and did not obtain written consent from her.

“Upon information and belief,” the complaint alleges, Delgado’s “experiences as described above are typical and representative of the experiences of the putative BIPA class.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Privacy
Tags: BIPA, Biometric Fingerprint Violations, Taking/Storing/Using Biometric Data, Your Privacy