Trump Chicago Hotel Facing Biometric Privacy Class Action Over Worker Fingerprint Scans

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A proposed class action claims President Donald Trump’s Chicago hotel has violated an Illinois privacy law by collecting and storing workers’ fingerprints for timekeeping purposes without obtaining written consent to do so.

Filed in Cook County Circuit Court, the 12-page lawsuit claims defendant 401 North Wabash Venture, LLC—doing business as Trump International Hotel & Tower—required employees to scan their biometric identifiers—i.e., fingerprints or handprints—each time they clocked into and out of work. The workers’ biometric data was then disseminated to third parties, including timekeeping, data storage and payroll vendors, the case alleges.

According to the suit, however, the defendant’s fingerprint-scanning practices overstepped the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) given workers were not informed in writing prior to the collection of their biometric data of the purpose and length of time for which their information was being collected, stored and used.

Moreover, the plaintiff and other workers never provided the hotel—which boasts 454 rooms and a restaurant and lounge—with any written consent relating to its use of their private biometric data or the disclosure of such to third parties, the suit alleges.

Finally, the case claims the defendant failed to publish a publicly available written retention schedule and guidelines for permanently destroying the biometric data, leaving workers unaware of how long their information will be retained.

“To this day, Plaintiff is unaware of the status of the biometrics obtained by Defendant,” the complaint reads. “Defendant has not informed Plaintiff whether it still retains Plaintiff’s biometrics, and if it does, for how long it intends to retain such information without Plaintiff’s consent.”

Per the complaint, biometric information is “unlike other unique identifiers” in that it cannot be changed. If an individual’s biometrics are compromised, they face an increased risk of identity theft, especially if the data is associated with other personally identifiable information, the case stresses.

The lawsuit further claims that although compliance with the Illinois BIPA is “straightforward and may be accomplished through a single, signed sheet of paper,” the defendant has nevertheless failed to adhere to the law’s provisions and violated the plaintiff’s and other workers’ right to biometric privacy.

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