A state court in Sangamon County preliminarily approved a class action settlement (“Settlement”) in the lawsuit captioned Herman v. Missouri Fiesta, Inc. et al., Case No. 2024CH000020 (Circuit Court of Sangamon Count) (the “Lawsuit”).
This Lawsuit alleges that Missouri Fiesta, Inc. and W&M Restaurants, Inc. (collectively, “MFI”) violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). Among other things, BIPA prohibits private companies from capturing, collecting, or otherwise obtaining an individual’s biometric identifier or biometric information, including a fingerprint or identifying information based on a fingerprint or handprint, without first providing an individual with certain written disclosures and obtaining written consent, and requires companies to issue a written biometric policy governing when they will delete any biometric identifiers collected, among other things. The Lawsuit alleges that MFI violated BIPA by collecting finger scan data from their employees who may have used the Par Tech Inc.’s Point-of-Sale System (“POS System”) in Illinois without first providing written notice and obtaining written consent, or issuing a written biometric policy. MFI denies and continues to deny each and every allegation and all charges of wrongdoing or liability of any kind whatsoever.
You can learn more about the Lawsuit by contacting the Claims Administrator or by reading the Notice.