Anonymised respondents (2 employers)

Referred to police for prosecution of the ceo (s.20). DPO, 17 July 2013.

Record ID: mu-dpo-2013-0017
Case reference: DPO/DEC/17
Jurisdiction: Mauritius
Regulator: DPO
Type: determination
Date decided: 17 July 2013
Respondent type: private
Sector: employment
Violations: unlawful processing of biometric data without consent
Provisions cited: s.20 DPA 2004, s.22 DPA 2004, s.24 DPA 2004, s.25 DPA 2004
Outcome: referred to police for prosecution of the CEO (s.20)
Status: final
Source: Official document ↗
Record verified: 11 July 2026

Summary

Three trade unions complained about employers' use of fingerprints for employee attendance without consent. The Commissioner found the processing unsupported under sections 24 or 25 and referred the matter to the police under section 20 for prosecution against the chief executive officer of the first respondent - the collective-action landmark of the Office's biometrics line.

BIOMETRICS · FINGERPRINT · TRADE-UNIONS · EMPLOYMENT · POLICE-REFERRAL

Cite this decision

DPO (Mauritius), DPO/DEC/17, determination of 17 July 2013. African Data Protection Enforcement Tracker, Law Lab Africa Research, https://research.lawlab.africa/tracker/mauritius/dpo/2013/decision-17-trade-unions-fingerprint-referral/ (accessed 22 July 2026).

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