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Emily Harmon

Document Type

Comment

Subject Area

General Law Division

Abstract

The practice of using biometric identifiers such as fingerprints, facial recognition, and eye scans in place of usernames and passwords is becoming widespread in the workplace. Because of the lack of federal protection, employers may compel employees’ participation in biometric-enabled systems as a term of employment. A person’s biometric data cannot be replaced and is often linked to personal and financial accounts. Additionally, employers collecting biometric data often rely on third parties for information technology service and storage. Biometric data collection creates the potential for data breaches, for system malfunctions, and for third parties to learn additional information about the person surrendering biometric data. Federal regulation of employers’ collection of biometric data is critical because of the magnitude of the risks inherent to data breaches and the continual encroachment of technology on privacy interests in the workplace. This Comment examines the evolution of conceptions of privacy and the law, and state regulation of personal and biometric data under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act and the California Consumer Privacy Act to demonstrate the critical need for federal regulation of biometric data, particularly within employment. After pointing out the inadequacies of these Acts discussed as applied to the workplace, this Comment suggests a series of mandatory federal procedures that would better safeguard employees’ privacy. Employers should be subject to policies that increase transparency of biometric data retention, inform employees of potential risks before enrolling, provide time for consideration, and offer alternatives.

DOI

10.59643/1942-9916.1511

Rights

Copyright © 2023 by the WYOMING LAW REVIEW unless otherwise noted. Except as otherwise provided, copies of any article may be made for classroom use, provided that: (1) Copies are distributed at or below cost; (2) The author and the journal are identified; (3) Proper notice of copyright is affixed to each copy, and (4) The WYOMING LAW REVIEW is notified of the use.

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