Gift Company, Workers Get $4.5 Million Biometrics Deal Approved

PersonalizationMall.com will pay $4.5 million to settle allegations that it used fingerprint timekeeping practices that violated Illinois’ biometric laws, after a federal judge granted final approval of the deal.

The class action alleges that the online gift company, owned by Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., didn’t obtain employee consent when it required them to scan their fingerprints to track the time they worked. Not only did the company collect and use employees’ biometric data, but it also failed to make disclosures about the collection, class representatives LaTonia Williams, Dequrvia Williams, and Derrick Barnes claim.

Judge Thomas M. Durkin of ...