News in Brief May 26 – Snapchat, CVS and More

Snapchat Sued For Gathering Facial Recognition Data

Snapchat is the most recent digital entity to be hit with a putative class action over its facial recognition software. The suit was filed under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and accuses Snapchat of illegally collecting and storing users’ biometric information (facial templates through the “Lenses” feature) without their consent – and without telling them their info is being saved. The plaintiffs are asking the court to award up to $5,000 for each time Snapchat allegedly violated the BIPA.

Safeway Olive Oil Lawsuit Certified

A California state judge has certified a class of people who bought Safeway-brand olive oil in light of claims that the products’ labels are misleading. According to the lawsuit, Safeway advertises its olive oil as being imported from Italy, despite the fact that the olives are grown and processed elsewhere. In addition to these claims, named plaintiff Rohini Kumar says that the products aren’t actually extra-virgin grade like their advertisements say. Kumar also filed a proposed class action against the maker of Filippo Berio olive oil over similar accusations.

CVS Facing Wage and Hour Class Action

CVS Pharmacy is facing a proposed class action claiming that it failed to properly pay its employees their earned overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Plaintiff Linda Ramos alleges she is a non-exempt employee who wasn’t properly paid for the five overtime hours she worked every week for seven years.

Theranos Hit with Lawsuit Over Faulty Blood Tests

Theranos has been hit with a lawsuit alleging that its Edison device did not work as well as advertised. The device was supposed to evaluate a patient’s health with only a few drops of blood, but it was reported that the system didn’t provide accurate results. The plaintiff, only known as M.P.B., is looking to certify a class of people nationwide who paid for Theranos to do their bloodwork. The test are available at Walgreens pharmacies.