Appeals court draws line between facilitating and collecting biometric data
Staffing agencies that enroll workers in fingerprint time clocks but never access the biometric data are off the hook under Illinois privacy law.
For staffing agencies worried about biometric privacy lawsuits, an Illinois appeals court delivered welcome news on January 30, 2026. The ruling draws a clear line between helping workers use fingerprint scanners and actually collecting their biometric information.
The decision centered on two temporary workers placed at a cheese manufacturing plant in Elgin. Araceli Salinas worked there through Surestaff, while Lorena Servin came through Metrostaff. Both had to scan their fingerprints on time clocks to record their hours at the Arthur Schuman Cheese facility.
The workers sued, claiming the staffing agencies violated the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act by collecting fingerprints without proper written notices and consent. Under the law, companies must inform workers in writing before collecting biometric data and explain how long they'll keep it and why. Workers must also sign a release.
Here's the critical detail. The staffing agencies never actually possessed the fingerprint data. Schuman owned the time clocks through a lease with Paycom Payroll and controlled all the biometric information. The data lived on the devices and Paycom's cloud servers, completely out of reach for Surestaff and Metrostaff.
The agencies did enroll their workers in...
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) made an unfounded claim that the USS Abraham Lincoln was heavily damaged in an attack. U.S. Central Command denied the report. The IRGC said on Thur...