Petco Hit with Class Action Over Alleged Collection of Employee Photos Without Proper Disclosure, Consent

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Petco Animal Supplies, Inc. faces a proposed class action wherein a former employee claims the pet supply store has unlawfully collected photographs of workers’ faces without providing proper disclosures and obtaining consent to do so.

According to the lawsuit, Petco has failed to adhere to the disclosure and consent requirements of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) before requiring workers to have their photographs taken for identification purposes when clocking in and out of the stores’ timekeeping systems.

The case alleges Petco’s BIPA missteps have exposed employees to “serious and irreversible privacy risks” in that their biometric information—i.e., facial geometries—cannot be replaced or changed if stolen or compromised.

“For example, if an employee database is hacked, breached, or otherwise exposed, employees have no means by which to prevent identity theft and unauthorized tracking,” the complaint reads.

Per the suit, Petco violated the BIPA by failing to:

• Properly inform workers in writing of the specific purpose and length of time for which their biometric information was being collected, stored and used;
• Provide a publicly available retention schedule and guidelines for the permanent destruction of workers’ photographs; and
• Receive a written release from workers to collect, capture, or otherwise obtain their biometric data.

The plaintiff says he worked as a department manager at a Highland Park, Illinois Petco store between 2012 and 2016, during which he was told that Petco would be transitioning to a system that would take workers’ photographs as a means of authentication when clocking in and out of a store’s timekeeping system. Per the case, the plaintiff’s photograph was taken in person at the Petco store and then each time he clocked in and out for his shift. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was asked to provide his employee identification number at the beginning of his shift and a “camera mounted or contained on an iPad type instrument” would then take his photograph and determine whether he was the employee to whom the employee ID number was assigned.

“Upon information and belief, Defendant’s biometric technology compared Plaintiff’s employer identification number (which was associated with the source photograph and the biometric identifiers and/or biometric information collected therefrom) to the biometric identifiers from subsequent photographs taken by the system,” the complaint states.

The suit argues, however, that Petco never informed the plaintiff of its biometric policies or received written consent from the man to collect his sensitive biometric information as required by state law.

“Plaintiff has continuously and repeatedly been exposed to the risks and harmful conditions created by Defendant’s violations of the BIPA alleged herein,” according to the case.

The lawsuit looks to represent Illinois citizens whose biometric information was collected, capture, received, otherwise obtained or disclosed by Petco during the applicable statute of limitations period while residing in Illinois.

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