Janitorial Services Firm Reaches $1.85M BIPA Settlement

Janitorial, healthcare, and logistics services provider Vonachen Services has reached a $1.85 million settlement in response to a class action lawsuit alleging the company violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

The lawsuit claims that Vonachen collected and stored employee biometric data through a timekeeping system without obtaining proper consent or providing necessary disclosures.

The settlement benefits employees who worked at Vonachen’s Illinois facilities and whose biometric data was collected from November 1, 2014, to January 18, 2024. Under BIPA, companies are required to follow stringent guidelines for collecting and storing biometric information, including obtaining written consent from individuals.

This is the latest in what is almost a constant stream of BIPA filings against companies of varying sizes that operate in the state of Illinois. Vocal critics of BIPA have argued that the way it is structured punishes small and medium-sized businesses more than the giant corporations that can easily afford to pay the sometimes massive settlements.

However, last month the Illinois House Judiciary-Civil Committee passed a significant amendment to the law stipulating that violators now face a maximum fine of $1,000 per person for recording biometric data without express written consent, as opposed to per individual violation. Once signed into law, the amendment will effectively switch BIPA from a ‘per-scan’ penalty system to a ‘per-victim’ penalty system.

Though the change was made to address the high number of lawsuits that resulted from BIPA’s previously more stringent provisions, some critics argue that it doesn’t do enough, pointing out that the change does not protect companies retroactively.

For its part, Vonachen Services has not admitted any wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement in order to resolve the claims. Affected employees are eligible to receive a share of the settlement fund, with estimates suggesting each class member could receive around $780. The deadline for class members to exclude themselves or object to the settlement is July 8, 2024, with the final approval hearing set for August 22, 2024.

Source: Top Class Actions

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June 4, 2024 — by Tony Bitzionis