Xenial’s Point-of-Sale Platform Unlawfully Collects Restaurant Employees’ Fingerprint Scans, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action claims Xenial, Inc. and parent company Global Payments Inc. have unlawfully collected, stored and shared employee fingerprint scans without consent.

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The 22-page privacy lawsuit says that Global Payments and Xenial—a platform that provides management solutions and software to the food service industry—require clients’ employees to scan their fingerprints at a biometric-enabled point-of-sale (POS) terminal each time they wish to input a food order or clock in or out. However, the suit alleges that the companies have violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by failing to provide notice or obtain informed consent before collecting, storing and disseminating workers’ biometric data.

In addition, the case claims the companies have failed to publish guidelines for how long the information will be stored before being permanently deleted, in violation of the BIPA.

The plaintiff, who formerly worked at an Illinois Burger King location that utilized the Xenial platform, says she had to scan her fingerprint at the POS system each time she needed to clock in or out of her shift.

However, the plaintiff contends that she never gave the defendants her consent to collect, store and share her biometric information with third parties, and she was never informed why or for how long the companies would keep the data or if it would be permanently destroyed.

Because biometric information is unique to each individual, employees whose data is collected face a greater risk of identity theft or fraud by unauthorized third parties if the sensitive information is compromised, the filing asserts.

“Unlike key fobs or identification cards—which can be changed or replaced if stolen or compromised—fingerprints are unique, permanent biometric identifiers associated with each individual,” the complaint states. “This exposes individuals like [the plaintiff] to serious and irreversible privacy risks.”

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone whose biometric information was collected, captured, obtained, stored or disclosed by Xenial and Global Payments in Illinois within the applicable statute of limitations period.

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