It also has to get your written permission. If you’re working in Illinois, your employer is required to inform you that your biometric data is being collected, why it’s being collected, and how long it is being stored-all in writing. But consumers aren’t the only ones protected. Enacted after a company, Pay-By-Touch, went bankrupt and attempted to sell off customers’ fingerprint data, the law restricts companies’ ability to use and distribute biometric data. Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), enacted in 2008, was the first major biometric privacy law passed by a state.

But in some places, you have the right to refuse and even sue.Īs the collection and use of biometrics has exploded, lawmakers in three states have responded by passing laws restricting its deployment. Privacy and labor laws have lagged behind the shifts in the American workplace. Other companies have not responded to requests for comment or have said they cannot comment on active litigation. In some cases, the companies have countered in the lawsuits that their employees’ union agreement allows the use of the machines: “Southwest and United contend that the plaintiffs’ unions have consented-either expressly or through the collective bargaining agreements’ management-rights clauses-and that any required notice has been provided to the unions,” the court’s opinion states. “You can get a new phone, you can change your password, you can even change your Social Security number you can’t change your face,” said Kade Crockford, the Technology for Liberty program director at ACLU of Massachusetts.Ĭompanies facing legal action over their use of the machines range from fast food joints like McDonald’s and Wendy’s, to hotel chains like Marriott and Hyatt, to airlines like United and Southwest.

In an amicus brief in a case before a federal court of appeals, a group of privacy advocates, including the ACLU and the EFF, wrote that “the immutability of biometric information” puts people “at risk of irreparable harm in the form of identity theft and/or tracking.” In addition to these health concerns, critics argue that biometric devices pose massive personal security issues, exposing workers to potential identity theft and subjecting them to possible surveillance from corporations and law enforcement. And you should wash your hands for 20 seconds or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer immediately after using one. The Centers for Disease Control says that coronavirus can remain on surfaces for hours, so screens and scanners should be regularly disinfected with cleaning spray or wipes. With the global o utbreak of COVID-19, your personal health could be at risk when using frequently touched screens and fingerprint scanners. Because it turns out moving fast and breaking things broke some super important things.

Kronos clock in machine