Accu-Time Systems has agreed to a proposed $1.5 million settlement in an Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) class action alleging improper collection and handling of employee fingerprint data through finger-scanning time clocks. The case, Franchini et al. v. Accu-Time Systems, Inc., centers on claims that biometric data was collected without adequate notice and written consent, as required under Illinois law.
According to the settlement administrator, the agreement establishes a $1.5 million fund to compensate eligible class members, with individual payments estimated to range from approximately $100 to $500 depending on the number of approved claims. The class includes individuals who scanned a fingerprint on Accu-Time devices in Illinois between August 29, 2016 and September 15, 2025 while working for specified customer companies.
Settlement materials list numerous employers whose use of Accu-Time devices during the covered period may bring employees into the class. While Accu-Time is the defendant, BIPA litigation has repeatedly demonstrated that biometric exposure often extends beyond technology vendors to downstream employers responsible for deployment, notice, and consent practices.
The settlement outlines a defined claims process and timeline. The deadline to submit a claim is March 12, 2026, while objections or requests for exclusion were required by late December 2025. A final approval hearing is scheduled for April 1, 2026. Claimants may elect to receive payment through several digital channels, including ACH, PayPal, Zelle, or Venmo, as well as paper checks.
Although the settlement does not constitute an admission of liability, it adds to a long line of BIPA resolutions involving fingerprint-based time and attendance systems. These cases have consistently highlighted operational compliance gaps, particularly around written consent, published retention schedules, and documented data destruction policies.
The Accu-Time settlement reinforces that biometric compliance risk in Illinois remains active and financially material, even for long-running deployments. Vendors and employers alike continue to face exposure when biometric systems are treated as routine infrastructure rather than regulated data collection mechanisms. As BIPA litigation persists, time clock and workforce management systems remain one of the most common and consequential sources of biometric liability.
Sources: AccuBIPASettlement.com, ClassAction.org
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
