Frequently Asked Questions

The Court authorized this website to let you know about a proposed Settlement with Kronos. You have legal rights and options that you may act on before the Court decides whether to give final approval to the proposed Settlement. You may be eligible to receive a cash payment as part of the Settlement. This website explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

Judge Gary S. Feinerman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is overseeing this class action. The case is called Figueroa v. Kronos Incorporated, Case No. 1:19-CV-01306. The persons who filed the lawsuit, Charlene Figueroa and Jermaine Burton, are the Plaintiffs. The company they sued, Kronos Incorporated, is the Defendant.

A class action is a lawsuit in which individuals called “Class Representatives” bring a single lawsuit on behalf of other people who they assert have similar legal claims. All of these people together are potential members of the “Class.” When a Class is certified for settlement and the Settlement is finally approved by the Court, the Settlement resolves the issues for all Settlement Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), 740 ILCS 14/1, et seq., regulates the collection, storage, and/or use of a person’s biometric data in Illinois, including requiring consent to the collection of biometric data. Biometric data includes fingerprints. This lawsuit alleges that Kronos as a provider of timekeeping devices with a finger-scanner and “cloud” hosting services collected and stored biometric data without authorization from individuals who scanned their fingers at employers that were using Kronos-brand timeclocks and cloud-hosting services. Kronos denies these allegations and denies that it was subject to or violated BIPA.

More information about Plaintiffs' complaint in the lawsuit and the Defendant’s defenses can be found in the “Court Documents” section of this website.

You are a member of the Settlement Class if you scanned your finger on a Kronos-brand timeclock at your job in Illinois, and that finger-scan data was hosted by Kronos, between January 18, 2014, and March 20, 2022. If you received a notice of the Settlement via email or in the mail, records indicate that you are a Class Member and are included in the Settlement. You may call or email the Settlement Administrator at 833-620-3585 or [email protected] to ask whether you are a member of the Settlement Class.

Pictured below are examples of Kronos-brand timeclocks with the finger-scan attachment:

Cash Payments. If you’re eligible, you can submit a claim to receive a cash payment. The amount of such payment is estimated to be $290-$580, depending on the number of approved claims. This is a pro rata, or equal, share of a $15,276,227 fund that Kronos has agreed to create, after the payment of settlement expenses, attorneys’ fees, and any incentive award for the two Class Representatives in the litigation approved by the Court.

Prospective Relief. Under the settlement, Kronos has agreed to notify employers that use Kronos-brand timeclocks and use Kronos as a host for finger-scan data that they need to obtain written releases from individuals who scan their fingers on Kronos-brand timeclocks, make all BIPA-required disclosures, and establish and maintain a retention and destruction policy that is made available to the public.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and you want to get a payment, you must complete and submit a valid Claim Form by December 6, 2022.  If you received an email notice, it contained a link to the online Claim Form, which is also available on this website here and can be filled out and submitted online. The online Claim Form lets you select to receive your payment by Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, or check. A paper Claim Form with pre-paid postage was attached to the postcard notice you may have received in the mail. Those who submit a paper Claim Form will receive a check by mail, if the claim is approved.

Depending on the number of approved claims , you may need to complete an IRS Form W-9 to satisfy IRS tax reporting obligations related to the payment. You may complete the Form W-9 now; doing so now will ensure that you receive your full payment as soon as possible.

The hearing date to consider the fairness of the Settlement is scheduled for December 20, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. CT. If the Court approves the Settlement, Class Members whose claims were approved by the Settlement Administrator and, if necessary, who have completed a Form W-9 on this website will be issued a check or electronic payment (as chosen by the Settlement Class Member) within 60 days after the Settlement has been finally approved by the Court and/or after any appeals process is complete. Please be patient. Uncashed checks and electronic payments that are unable to be completed will expire and become void 120 days after they are issued and will be donated to Legal Aid Chicago and American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, or such other not-for-profit organization(s) as the Court may order as cy pres recipient.

Yes, the Court has appointed Jay Edelson and J. Eli Wade-Scott of Edelson PC and Ryan F. Stephan and James B. Zouras of Stephan Zouras, LLP as the attorneys to represent the Settlement Class. These attorneys are called “Class Counsel.” In addition, the Court appointed Plaintiffs Charlene Figueroa and Jermaine Burton to serve as the Class Representatives. They are Settlement Class Members like you. Class Counsel can be reached by calling 1-866-354-3015.

You don’t need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf. You may hire your own lawyer, but if you do so, you will have to pay that lawyer.

Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys’ fees and expenses of up to 33% of the Settlement Fund (after payment of notice and administration costs) and will also request an incentive award of $7,500 for each of the two Class Representatives from the Settlement Fund. The Court will determine the proper amount of any attorneys’ fees and expenses to award Class Counsel and the proper amount of any award to the Class Representatives. The Court may award less than the amounts requested.

If you do nothing, you will receive no money from the Settlement Fund, but you will still be bound by all orders and judgments of the Court. Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will not be able to file or continue a lawsuit against Kronos or other Released Parties (defined in the Settlement Agreement) regarding any of the Released Claims. Submitting a Claim Form that is approved by the Settlement Administrator is the only way to receive a payment from this Settlement.

To submit a Claim Form, or for information on how to request exclusion from the class or file an objection, please visit the contact page of this website or call 833-620-3585.

You may exclude yourself from the Settlement. If you do so, you will not receive any cash payment, but you will not release any claims you may have against the Kronos and the Released Parties and are free to pursue whatever legal rights you may have by pursuing your own individual lawsuit against Kronos and the Released Parties at your own risk and expense.

You can mail or email a letter stating that you want to be excluded from the Settlement. Your letter must: (a) be in writing; (b) identify the case name, Figueroa v. Kronos Incorporated, No. 19-cv-1306 (N.D. Ill.); (c) state the full name and current address of the person in the Settlement Class seeking exclusion; (d) be signed by the person seeking exclusion; and (e) be postmarked or received by the Settlement Administrator on or before December 6, 2022. Each request for exclusion must also contain a statement to the effect that “I hereby request to be excluded from the proposed Settlement Class in Figueroa v. Kronos Incorporated, No. 19-cv-1306 (N.D. Ill.).” You must mail or email your exclusion request no later than December 6, 2022 to: 

Figueroa v. Kronos
c/o Kroll Settlement Administrator
PO Box 5324
New York, NY 10150-5324 

-or- 

[email protected]

You can’t exclude yourself over the phone. No person may request to be excluded from the Settlement Class through “mass” or “class” opt-outs.

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue Kronos and any other Released Party for the claims being resolved by this Settlement.

No. If you exclude yourself, you will not receive a payment.

If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you can object to the Settlement if you don’t like any part of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should deny approval by filing an objection. To object, you must file a letter or brief with the Court stating that you object to the Settlement in Figueroa v. Kronos Incorporated, Case No. 1:19-cv-01306 (N.D. Ill.), no later than December 8, 2022. Your objection must be e-filed or delivered to the Court at the following address:

Clerk of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse
219 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court is accepting filings from pro se litigants via email. Instructions on how to file via email can be found here.

The objection must be in writing, must be signed, and must include the following information: (a) your full name and current address, (b) a statement that you believe you are a member of the Settlement Class, (c) whether the objection applies only to you, to a specific subset of the Settlement Class, or to the entire Settlement Class, (d) the specific grounds for your objection, (e) all documents or writings that you wish the Court to consider, (f) the name and contact information of any attorneys representing, advising, or in any way assisting you in connection with the preparation or submission of the objection or who may profit from the pursuit of the objection, and (g) a statement indicating whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing. If you hire an attorney in connection with making an objection, that attorney must file an appearance with the Court or seek pro hac vice admission to practice before the Court, and electronically file the objection through the Court’s CM/ECF system by the objection deadline of December 8, 2022. If you do hire your own attorney, you will be solely responsible for payment of any fees and expenses the attorney incurs on your behalf. Any objections by Settlement Class Members representing themselves that are filed in paper form will be placed on the docket by the Clerk of Court. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot file an objection. 

Class Counsel will file with the Court and post on the Settlement Website its request for attorneys’ fees and incentive awards on November 22, 2022.

Objecting simply means telling the Court that you don’t like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class as a Class Member. Excluding yourself from the Settlement Class is telling the Court that you don’t want to be a Settlement Class Member. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case no longer affects you.

The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing at 9:30 a.m. CT on December 20, 2022 before Judge Gary S. Feinerman in Room 2141 of the Northern District Court of Illinois, Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60604, or via remote means as instructed by the Court. The purpose of the hearing is for the Court to determine whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class. At the hearing, the Court will hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the proposed Settlement, including those related to the amount requested by Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees and expenses and the incentive award to the Class Representatives.

Note: The date and time of the Final Approval Hearing are subject to change by Court Order. Any changes will be posted in this section of the website.

Update: The Court has provided the following instructions to attend the Final Approval Hearing telephonically: 

Attorneys/Parties should appear for the 12/20/2022 hearing by calling the Toll−Free Number: (877) 336−1828, Access Code: 4082461. Members of the public and media will be able to call in to listen to this hearing (use toll free number). Please, please be sure to keep your phone on mute when you are not speaking. Persons granted remote access to proceedings are reminded of the general prohibition against photographing, recording, and rebroadcasting of court proceedings. Violation of these prohibitions may result in sanctions, including removal of court issued media credentials, restricted entry to future hearings, denial of entry to future hearings, or any other sanctions deemed necessary by the Court.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. You are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send an objection, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as your written objection was filed on time and meets the other criteria described in the Court's Preliminary Approval Order, the Court will consider it. You may also pay a lawyer to attend, but you don’t have to.

Yes. If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you may ask the Court for permission to speak at the hearing concerning any part of the proposed Settlement. If you filed an objection (see FAQ 16 above) and intend to appear at the hearing, you must state your intention to do so in your objection.

This website summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details, including the Settlement Agreement and other documents are available in the Documents section of this website or at the Clerk’s Office in the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois 60604, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Court holidays and any closures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. You can also contact the Settlement Administrator at 833-620-3585 or Class Counsel at 1-866-354-3015 with any questions.

Please do NOT contact the court, the judge, the defendant or the defendant's lawyers with questions about the Settlement or distribution of Settlement payments.