Holiday Inn in Chicago sued under BIPA

Holiday Inn employees in downtown Chicago are suing their employer under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, according to a Law360 report.

BIPA is considered to be the most comprehensive biometric privacy law in the U.S.

Under the act, companies must receive an individual’s expressed written permission before collecting their fingerprint, retina scan or other identifying biological trait.

The suit alleges that hotel employees at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North are required to submit to a fingerprint scan for punch time-clock verification, but that the hotel never obtained consent to collect and store the employee’s personal data.

The lawsuit claims that the hotel’s action raises a “material risk that plaintiffs’ and other similarly situated individuals’ biometric data will be unlawfully accessed by third parties.”

Due to a wave of BIPA lawsuits, both Facebook and a Chicago-based hospital network are currently facing class action litigation.

Article Topics

Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)  |  biometrics  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  legislation  |  privacy