Class Action Claims Cambria Hotel Violated Illinois Law by Collecting Workers’ Fingerprint Data

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A proposed class action out of Illinois circuit court alleges hotel chain operators Fillmore Hospitality, LLC and FH Chi, LLC overstepped the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by collecting and storing employees’ fingerprints for the purpose of tracking work hours.

The plaintiff in the case, who worked at the defendants’ Cambria Hotel in Chicago, says he and other hotel employees were required to scan their fingerprints when clocking in and out of each shift. Despite employing this method of collecting workers’ personal biometric information, the defendants allegedly ignored specific guidelines set by the BIPA for how such data is to be collected and stored. Specifically, the case says the hotel chain failed to:

• Inform employees in writing that their biometric information would be collected or stored;
• Inform employees in writing of the “specific purpose and the length of term” for which their information would be collected or stored;
• Obtain employees’ written release authorizing the collection/storage of their biometric information; and
• Publish a publicly available policy governing when and how employees’ biometric data would be destroyed.

The plaintiff claims the defendants failed to adhere to the state law’s requirements prior to collecting his fingerprint data and provided no other method by which he could verify his attendance and timeliness at work.

“Plaintiff relied on Defendants to not only provide a lawful and legally compliant system,” the complaint reads, “but to also disclose all material information regarding the technology and system, including all relevant retention, destruction, and dissemination policies.”