Lathem Time Co. Violated Illinois Privacy Law by Collecting Workers’ Facial Scans, Lawsuit Alleges

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Lathem Time Co. faces a proposed class action that alleges the human resources management software and services provider has collected the facial scans of Illinois residents without first providing certain disclosures or obtaining consent to do so.

The 22-page lawsuit alleges Lathem, who provides biometric timekeeping devices to employers, has failed to comply with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), a state law that requires any company who deals with consumers’ biometric information—such as retina and iris scans, voiceprints, hand and fingerprint scans and facial geometry—to first provide certain disclosures and obtain authorization to use the data.

“Notwithstanding the clear and unequivocal requirements of the law, Defendant disregards the statutorily protected privacy rights of Illinois citizens and unlawfully collects, stores, and uses their biometric data in violation of BIPA,” the complaint contends.

According to the case, when an employee begins working at a company that uses one of Lathem’s biometric timekeeping devices, they are required to have their faces scanned to add their facial geometry to the defendant’s database. The lawsuit claims that the defendant violates the BIPA by failing to inform workers prior to collecting their facial scans that it intends to collect, store or use their biometric information, and of the purpose and length of time for which the data will be used.

Moreover, the case alleges Lathem has failed to provide a publicly available retention policy and guidelines for destroying workers’ biometric data as required by the BIPA, and secure a written release from employees to use their information.

Per the suit, Lathem profits from workers’ biometric data by marketing its timekeeping systems as superior to traditional timeclocks, and thus obtains a competitive advantage over other timekeeping and payroll vendors, “all while failing to comply with the minimum requirements for handling employees’ biometric data established by BIPA.”

The plaintiff says he was required to scan his face each time he clocked in and out of work while employed by Hixson Lumber Supply in Hillsboro, Illinois. According to the suit, Lathem’s alleged failure to comply with the BIPA’s disclosure and authorization requirements has “continuously and repeatedly” exposed the plaintiff and other workers to “serious and irreversible privacy risks.”

The plaintiff looks to represent anyone in Illinois who had their facial geometry collected, captured, received, obtained, maintained or stored by Lathem during the applicable statutory period.

The case was initially filed in April 2020 in Cobb County, Georgia Superior Court before being removed to the state’s Northern District Court on May 3, 2022.

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