The Illinois Supreme Court said Thursday that US labor laws bar unionized workers from suing their employers for violations of the state biometrics privacy law, which could result in hefty penalties for companies.
The Illinois Supreme Court unanimously ruled that security staff at Chicago’s Roosevelt University should submit their complaints about the use of their fingerprints for time and attendance without their consent to a union arbitration panel, not a court of law.
The university has received support from the US Chamber of Commerce, America’s largest business lobby, and groups representing the retail and hospitality industries.
The groups said in a brief last year that a ruling against Roosevelt would create uncertainty about the enforceability of union contracts and limit employers’ ability to negotiate agreements 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, retinal scans, and other biometrics from workers and consumers.
The law provides for penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, which can quickly add up in class action lawsuits.
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled last month that fast-food chain White Castle System Inc. must face charges of fingerprinting 9,500 employees without their consent, which the company says has cost the company $17 billion could cost.
Passed in 2008, BIPA is the only law in the United States that gives workers and consumers the right to sue for improper handling of biometric data.
But the state Supreme Court said Thursday that federal labor law overrides that right for unionized workers because their collective bargaining agreements provide procedures for hearing arbitrators in disputes.
A federal appeals court in Chicago came to the same conclusion in two cases decided since 2019.
Only about 6% of US private sector workers are union members, so the ruling is unlikely to significantly reduce lawsuits alleging violations of BIPA.
