EntryPoint Global - Time and Attendance - Labor Scheduling - Kronos - Workbrain - Infor

Biometric devices, such as palm, hand and fingerprint scanners, are beginning to replace the old process of “punching in” as companies and the public sector look for new and improved ways to improve efficiencies and streamline operations. Advantages aside, companies need to prepare for privacy concerns from their workforce. What should they do?

In a previous blog entry, Biometric Scanners to Track Hours Worked - Employees Gripe, I discussed the concerns and issues being raised by both City of New York employees and their respective labor unions regarding the use of biometric time clocks to track the comings and goings of each municipal employee.

I ended the previous blog entry with the question:

Are privacy concerns, as illustrated in the New York City case, surrounding the introduction of biometric time clocks warranted?

In the NYC case, the general public tends to think so. For example, a non-scientific poll conducted by MSNBC found that some 75%+ of respondents in fact have some or serious reservations surrounding the use of biometric time clocks by companies.

What does this mean for your organization? Organizations need to be aware of the reputational risks and the privacy issues that time and attendance or other projects implementing and using enterprise-wide biometrics, for whatever use, can entail and must address these risks and concerns in a proactive and well-defined manner.

In the NY case, one can argue that privacy issues should not be of minimal concern. Ingersoll-Rand, the suppliers of the biometric scanners, contend that the privacy issues are essentially groundless, as the devices and systems do not in fact store sensitive personal biometric data such as employee finger prints, but only a record of the employees hand geometry within the systems database. Hand geometry, while in fact a biometric identifier, is not as sensitive as fingerprints. Had the system scanned employee fingerprints, legitimate privacy concerns could be raised. 

In general, with the increased use of biometrics - in whatever fashion - biometric privacy, i.e. how a person’s biometric information once collected is used, stored and protected, will be an issue both governments and companies will be confronted with and will need to address going forward.

At the Government level, Governments should:

1. Introduce a comprehensive biometrics privacy code that goes beyond the protections of current federal privacy acts 

• Develop an enterprise-wide biometric privacy policy
• Communicate the policy to all employees and address any concerns employees may have, and;
• Ensure their employees that biometric devices and the biometric data will only be used as intended for employee identification (be it time-keeping or security), and the biometric data is secured using the latest technologies and will never be used for any other purposes other than for employee recognition

While the question of privacy issues is warranted, the developments in the field and the rapid adoption of this technology by organizations and governments around the world mean biometrics will increasingly become intertwined in our daily lives. Governments and companies need to ensure people’s biometric information is secure and protected and need to develop privacy policies and security measures to ensure such. Unlike addresses, PIN numbers, and other personal data, biometric data once compromised is compromised for life...Something to consider in your Time & Attendance implementation when you begin deploying those biometric readers throughout your enterprise.

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