Precision Dialogue Direct Hit with Privacy Class Action Over Worker Fingerprint Scans [UPDATE]

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A proposed class action claims Precision Dialogue Direct, Inc. has violated an Illinois privacy law by requiring employees to scan their fingerprints for timekeeping purposes without providing statutory disclosures and obtaining their informed consent.

The 36-page case relays that the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) stipulates that any company who deals in state residents’ biometric data, such as fingerprints, must first provide an individual with information about how their data will be used and obtain written permission to use or disclose their biometrics.

“Unfortunately for the Plaintiff and class members, none of these directives were followed,” the complaint alleges.

The case more specifically claims that Precision Dialogue Direct, a multi-channel customer engagement firm, violated the BIPA by failing to:

• Inform workers in writing that their biometric data was being recorded, obtained, collected and stored;
• Inform workers in writing of the purpose and length of term for which their data would be collected, stored and used;
• Obtain employees’ written consent to capture and store their biometric information;
• Develop and publicly share a retention schedule and guidelines for permanently destroying workers’ biometric data;
• Disclose to employees the identities of any third parties with whom Precision Dialogue Direct was sharing their biometric information; and
• Store the data in a manner that is at least as secure as how it stores similar sensitive data.

Per the suit, Precision Dialogue Direct requires workers to scan their fingerprints whenever they clock in and out at the company’s job sites without providing the aforementioned information or obtaining consent.

According to the complaint, the defendant stores workers’ fingerprint data less securely than, for instance, the employees’ Social Security numbers and the company’s business records, which are kept on personal computer systems with “demonstrably more security” and in more secure locations.

The case looks to award $5,000 “for each willful or reckless violation” of the BIPA and $1,000 for each negligent violation of the statute on behalf of anyone whose biometric data Precision Dialoguet collected or stored in Illinois.

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