State Auto Fails to Escape Chicago Grocer Fingerprint Lawsuit

State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co. may have to defend a Chicago grocery store chain in a state biometric privacy case over its requirement that employees use fingerprints to clock in, an Illinois federal judge ruled.

The court denied the insurer’s motion for summary judgment on the defense duty question.

In the proposed class action, Charlene Figueroa, a former employee of Tony’s Finer Foods Enterprises, alleges that the store’s requirement of employees using their fingerprints to clock in and out of work violates Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act.

State Automobile brought a separate federal lawsuit against Tony’s, arguing that it doesn’t ...