As Biometric Lawsuits Pile Up, Companies Eye Adoption With Care

A spate of large Biometric Information Privacy Act settlements in Illinois and the prospect of future legislation in other U.S. jurisdictions are forcing companies to think long and hard about whether—and how—to roll out biometric technology.

Employers with hundreds or thousands of employees sometimes turn to biometric timekeeping systems, which use fingerprint, face, or palm scans to verify workers’ identities, to save time and cut down on fraud. But those tools and ones like it are being reconsidered in the wake of high volumes of litigation, recent plaintiff-friendly decisions, and other legal risks, attorneys say.

“Some companies that have been ...