Slashdot Mirror
Wendy's Faces Lawsuit For Unlawfully Collecting Employee Fingerprints (zdnet.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: A class-action lawsuit has been filed in Illinois against fast food restaurant chain Wendy's accusing the company of breaking state laws in regards to the way it stores and handles employee fingerprints. The complaint is centered around Wendy's practice of using biometric clocks that scan employees' fingerprints when they arrive at work, when they leave, and when they use the Point-Of-Sale and cash register systems.
Plaintiffs, represented by former Wendy's employees Martinique Owens and Amelia Garcia, claim that Wendy's breaks state law -- the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) -- because the company does not make employees aware of how it handles their data. More specifically, the lawsuit claims that Wendy's does not inform employees in writing of the specific purpose and length of time for which their fingerprints were being collected, stored, and used, as required by the BIPA, and nor does it obtain a written release from employees with explicit consent to obtain and handle the fingerprints in the first place. Wendy's also doesn't provide a publicly available retention schedule and guidelines for permanently destroying employees' fingerprints after they leave the company, plaintiffs said. [The plaintiffs also claim that Wendy's sends this data to a third-party without their consent.]
Plaintiffs, represented by former Wendy's employees Martinique Owens and Amelia Garcia, claim that Wendy's breaks state law -- the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) -- because the company does not make employees aware of how it handles their data. More specifically, the lawsuit claims that Wendy's does not inform employees in writing of the specific purpose and length of time for which their fingerprints were being collected, stored, and used, as required by the BIPA, and nor does it obtain a written release from employees with explicit consent to obtain and handle the fingerprints in the first place. Wendy's also doesn't provide a publicly available retention schedule and guidelines for permanently destroying employees' fingerprints after they leave the company, plaintiffs said. [The plaintiffs also claim that Wendy's sends this data to a third-party without their consent.]
I'm going to coin a new word: "Ameritard"
An American citizen who demonstrates how mentally retarded they are by posting poorly thought out rants on the internet about how unconstitutional every law they don't like is.
I'm assuming this AC has had their drivers license revoked and owe child support payments. Therefore those laws must be bad.
For most of history, all but the last few years, when people did something socially unacceptable, it would only be remembered as long as those around them cared to remember. Now, algorithms and databases "remember" every time you didn't act "right."
Do something that is socially acceptable today, but not tomorrow? Its recorded forever to make sure that the record is straight and people know where you stand so that no one makes a mistake about your character.
Unfortunately, the rules that have been applied to computer systems and record systems are now being applied to humans on a mass scale. I think most humans have done something at one time that they would prefer they weren't judged by. Those days are long gone, and the days of mass penalties, and mass shaming are here.
--
1984? No, its 2018.