Waste Management, Advanced Disposal Hit with Biometric Privacy Class Action in Illinois

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Waste Management of Illinois and Advanced Disposal Services face a proposed class action that claims the waste disposal service companies have violated an Illinois biometric privacy law by collecting and disseminating workers’ fingerprint scans.

The 27-page case alleges Waste Management and Advanced Disposal, who was acquired by the former in 2020, have run afoul of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), a state law that aims to protect residents from the unauthorized use of their biometric information, including fingerprints, iris and retina scans, and hand and face geometry, by private entities.

According to the suit, the defendants have failed to both provide workers with required disclosures and obtain consent before collecting, storing and sharing their fingerprint data for timekeeping purposes.

The lawsuit relays that each of the defendants’ employees is required to scan his or her fingerprint when clocking in and out of the companies’ biometric timekeeping system. According to the case, Advanced Disposal never informed employees that their fingerprint data would be shared with Waste Management, and neither defendant informed workers that their biometric information would be disclosed to at least one third-party payroll vendor and “likely others.”

Moreover, the suit alleges that workers were not informed in writing prior to the collection of their biometric information of the purpose and length of time for which their fingerprint data would be collected, stored and used, as required by the BIPA.

The case goes on to claim that the defendants failed to secure a written release from the workers authorizing the collection, storage, dissemination or usage of their fingerprints as the statute requires and obtain their consent to share the data.

Finally, the suit alleges Waste Management and Advanced Disposal have failed to publish a publicly available retention policy and guidelines for permanently destroying affected Illinois residents’ biometric data.

The lawsuit stresses that fingerprints are unlike ID badges and timecards in that they are unique, permanent identifiers that can never be changed if compromised. Thus, the defendants’ alleged failure to properly inform and obtain consent from workers regarding the use and disclosure of their fingerprint data has exposed the individuals to “serious and irreversible privacy risks,” the suit contends.

The case, which was initially filed in Cook County Circuit Court before being removed to Illinois Northern District Court on April 22, looks to represent anyone who worked for either Waste Management or Advanced Disposal Services in Illinois and had their fingerprints or other biometric data collected, captured, received or otherwise obtained, maintained, stored or disclosed by either company during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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