EDWARDSVILLE — A Madison heating and cooling company is facing a class action suit over its employee fingerprint scanning.
Justice Ragan, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, filed a complaint Jan. 29 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Energy Stars Heating and Cooling Company, alleging violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.
According to her complaint, Ragan began working for Energy Stars Heating and Cooling in June 2017. She alleges that throughout her employment at Energy Stars, she has been required to use a fingerprint scanner to clock in and out of work. She claims digital copies of her fingerprints are scanned, collected and stored. The plaintiff claims her fingerprints are then compared with the fingerprints previously stored in the database.
Ragan alleges she never gave consent for her biometric information to be collected or stored and that she was not given any "statutory disclosures" or a retention schedule or guidelines pertaining to permanently destroying her biometric information. Ragan also alleges Energy Stars' collection of their employees' biometric data is in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.
Ragan and the putative class seek monetary relief, trial by jury and all other just relief. They are represented by Carl Malmstrom of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLC in Chicago and Frank Hedin and David Hall of Hedin Hall LLP in Miami.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 21-L-000120