Whole Foods to Pay $297,000 to Settle Voiceprint Privacy Suit

Whole Foods Market Group Inc. will pay nearly $300,000 to settle a lawsuit by warehouse employees alleging the company collected their voiceprints in violation of the Illinois biometric privacy law, in a deal that won early approval from a state court judge.

Ricky Jones alleged in the lawsuit that the company implemented a system using voiceprints to verify the identities of workers without obtaining their consent as required under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, and without providing them with a written policy regarding the use of their biometric identifiers.

The settlement is the first involving alleged voice biometrics under ...