Walmart Inc. recently settled a class action suit for $10 million related to claims that it violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
The suit was filed in January 2019 by Ethan Roach, a former Walmart employee, who alleged that the company collected and stored his and other employees biometric data through the use of a biometric cash register system that scanned their palms as part of their jobs, and violated BIPA by failing to follow informed written consent procedures when collecting the biometric information and storing the biometric data without a publicly available data retention and destruction policy as required under the statute.
The settlement class was defined as all current and former employees of Walmart (between 2014 and 2018) and Sam’s Club stores (between 2014 and 2019) located in Illinois who, without first providing written consent, used a palm scanner to access the “cash recycler system.” After payment of attorneys’ fees, named plaintiff award, and other costs associated with the administering the fund, the balance of the $10 million gross fund will be divided among the more than 10,000 class members.
Final Approval Order | Unopposed Motion for Approval of Class Action Settlement | Class Action Settlement Agreement