Bed Bath & Beyond’s Online Gift Platform Ends Finger Scan Case with $4.5M
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Class members in the Illinois finger scan case against the online gift platform owned by popular Bed, Bath & Beyond agreed to a $4.5 settlement to end the litigation.
The Case: Williams et al. v. Personalizationmall.com LLC
The Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
The Case No.: 1:20-cv-00025
The Plaintiff: Williams et al. v. Personalizationmall.com LLC
The plaintiff, Williams, along with other class members, claim that Personalizationmall.com LLC violated Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by failing to obtain informed consent from their workers before mandated they scan themselves in and out of work using their fingerprints. The plaintiffs claim the company did not inform them in writing (as required by law), and that the fingerprint scanning system captured, collected, stored, and used the employees’ biometric info even though signed releases were not obtained.
The Defendant: Williams et al. v. Personalizationmall.com LLC
The Defendant in the case, Personalizationmall.com LLC, is an online gift platform owned by Bed, Bath & Beyond. In order to resolve the fingerprint scan fight, the defendant struck a deal with the plaintiffs in the case. Class members signaled to the Illinois federal judge that they agree to accept the $4.5 million deal to end litigation over the online gift platform’s allegedly illegal fingerprint scanning and collection practice.
The Case: Williams et al. v. Personalizationmall.com LLC
The class members requested preliminary approval of the settlement noting that the deal would provide compensation for more than 20,000 people allegedly required to use the company’s vein-scanning time clock without consent; which constitutes an alleged employment law violation. The $4.5 million settlement agreement was reached during the 11-hour mediation the two parties engaged in during October 2021.
If you have questions about corporate fingerprint scanning practices or other employment law violations, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Our experienced Illinois employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices located in Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Riverside.
