Workers Advance Biometric Privacy Class Suit Against McAlister’s

McAlister’s Franchisor SPV LLC must face a proposed class action alleging it collected employees’ fingerprints for its timekeeping system without their consent in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

McAlister’s and its parent company Focus Brands LLC argued in a motion to dismiss that only direct employers are responsible for improperly collecting biometric data under the BIPA, but Judge Staci M. Yandle of the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois disagreed in a Wednesday ruling.

Entities that exercise significant control over data collection by a direct employer may also incur liability under the act, ...