EDWARDSVILLE - Harbor Freight Tools is being sued for allegedly retaining employees' biometric information without their consent.
Harbor Freight Tools, which has outlets throughout Illinois, is accused of failing to abide by the provisions of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
The plaintiff, Cassandra Boyle, is seeking class action certification on behalf of all employed by the company in Illinois in the last five years and who clocked in and clocked out using their fingerprints.
According to the suit, Harbor Freight took the "invasive and coercive" step of requiting employees to be scanned. Boyle has allegedly worked for the company since 2016. Boyle claims the company did not inform the plaintiff in writing that an identifier was being obtained, did not receive a written release, and did not publicly disclose why and for how long the information would be retained, according to the suit. She alleges these are all violations of BIPA.
The plaintiff also seeks to stop the defendant's "unlawful collection, use, storage, and disclosure" of the biometric information, which was done "potentially" with the help of a third party vendor.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff began and ended her work day with the requirement to clock in and out using a time block activated, at least in part, by the fingerprint.
These actions "exposed defendant's employees, including plaintiff, to serious and irreversible harm," the complaint states.
The proposed class action is seeking $1,000 for each negligent violation of the act, and $5,000 for every "willful and reckless" action. The suit estimates more than 500 people will be covered by the class action.
Brandon M. Wise, of Peiffer Wolf Carr & Kane in St. Louis is seeking to represent the class in this action.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 2020-L-0386