Union workers cannot sue under Illinois biometrics law, court rules

RockedBuzz
By RockedBuzz 3 Min Read

By Daniel Wiessner

(RockedBuzz via Reuters) – The Illinois Supreme Court said on Thursday that US labor law prevents union workers from suing their employers over violations of the state’s biometric privacy law, which can expose companies to fines massive.

The Illinois Supreme Court unanimously ruled that campus security officials at Roosevelt University in Chicago must file claims that the school used their fingerprints for timekeeping without their consent in union arbitration rather than in court.

The university was supported by the United States Chamber of Commerce, America’s largest business lobby, and groups representing the retail and restaurant industries.

The groups in a brief last year said a ruling against Roosevelt would create uncertainty about the enforceability of union contracts and impede employers’ ability to negotiate deals with unions.

The university and plaintiff’s attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) requires companies to obtain permission before collecting fingerprints, retina scans and other biometric information from workers and consumers.

The law imposes fines of up to $5,000 per violation, which can quickly add up to class-action lawsuits.

The Illinois Supreme Court last month said that fast-food chain White Castle System Inc faces charges that it scanned the fingerprints of 9,500 employees without their consent, which the company says could cost it $17 billion.

BIPA, adopted in 2008, is the only law in the United States that grants workers and consumers the right to sue for mishandling of biometric information.

But the state Supreme Court on Thursday said federal labor law trumps that right for unionized workers because their collective bargaining agreements establish procedures for arbitrators to hear legal disputes.

A Chicago-based federal appeals court has reached the same conclusion in a pair of cases decided since 2019.

Only about 6% of US private sector workers are union members, so the ruling is unlikely to significantly reduce the number of lawsuits over alleged BIPA violations.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York)

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