Iconic donut brand Krispy Kreme and the University of Chicago Medical Center have become some of the latest targets of potential big money class action lawsuits under Illinois' stringent biometrics law.
In the wake of recent Illinois Supreme Court decisions cementing a sweeping, broad reach for the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), class action complaints under the law against employers of all kinds and sizes continue to gain momentum.
Since the beginning of 2023, the state high court has issued a pair of decisions, ratcheting up the risks faced by employers and other businesses operating in Illinois. Under the court's decisions, plaintiffs can demand defendant companies pay potentially millions or even billions of dollars for alleged failures to obtain consent and provide certain notices to workers or others before scanning their fingerprints, facial geometry or other so-called biometric identifier, even in instances in which no one was actually harmed by a data breach or other possible misdeed.
In an instance in which an employer is sued for requiring workers to scan fingerprints when punching a time clock, for example, the court ruled employers could be made $1,000 or $5,000 per allegedly improper fingerprint scan - not per employee - dating back as far as five years.
Spurred by such big money possibilities, BIPA-related class action lawsuits have continued to stream into Cook County Circuit Court and other courts elsewhere in Illinois.
A diverse group of businesses were targeted in recent class action lawsuits filed in Cook County Circuit Court over biometric ID scans from March 3 - March 10. These include:
University of Chicago Medical Center
Gerald Curtis, on behalf of himself and others, filed a new class action against The University of Chicago Medical Center (USMC), Johnson Controls.(JC), Inc., a Wisconsin corporation, and Schneider Electric Usa (SEUSA), Inc., a Delaware corporation on March 8. Based on the campus of the University of Chicago in Hyde Park, the UCMC is one of Chicago's premier hospitals. Schneider Electric, USA is a global specialist in energy management and automation with operations in more than 100 countries. Johnson Controls is an American company headquartered in Ireland, specializing in HVAC and commercial security systems for buildings.
The lawsuit includes three separate, but related potential class claims, targeting each of the three entities. The lawsuit centers on claims employees at UCMC were improperly required to scan their fingerprints to verify their identity when accessing areas on the UCMC campus secured by a system allegedly supplied, installed or operated by Schneider and Johnson Controls. The lawsuit also seeks to sue Schneider and Johnson Controls on behalf of all others in Illinois who may have been required to scan their fingerprints when accessing those security systems at other locations in the state, apart from UCMC, as well.
Attorney Pasha Vaziri, of Vaziri Law, of Chicago, is representing Curtis and potentially untold thousands of other additional plaintiffs in the class action.
Krispy Kreme
Also among recent new class actions, attorneys Alexis D. Martin and Francisco Fernandez del Castillo, of the firm of Caffarelli & Associates, of Chicago, are representing plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed March 3 against donut megabrand Krispy Kreme Corporation. In that action, named plaintiff Terrence Coleman, who worked as a delivery driver for Krispy Kreme at its Homewood location from 2021-2022, claims he and other Krispy Kreme workers were improperly required to scan their fingerprints to verify their identity when punching time clocks at work to track their work hours. The lawsuit asserts the company failed to abide by BIPA's notice and consent provisions before requiring workers to scan their fingerprints.
The lawsuit seeks to expand the case to a class action including at least 100 other plaintiffs, according to the lawsuit.
More BIPA class actions
In other recently filed actions, attorneys Daniel Schlade and James Dore of Justicia Laboral, of Chicago, are pressing multiple BIPA-related class action cases in Cook County court including:
Jose Roque Martinez Hernandez on behalf of himself and others, against Imperial Service Systems, Inc., on March 3. Based in Mercer, Pennsylvania, Imperial Systems is a commercial manufacturer of industrial dust control and pollution systems;
Thelma Gonzales Martinez filed a new class action against Lakhani Hospitality, Inc., d/b/a Holiday Inn, Oakbrook on March 10. Lakhani Hospitality is an ownership & management company which owns & operates hotels, restaurants, & refueling stations in and around the Chicago metro and surrounding areas;
Benito Romano Salgado vs. RMC Loop Enterprises, on March 10. RMC Loop Enterprises is a McDonald's restaurant franchisee in Chicago;
Gustavo Carillo vs Century Village, LLC d/b/a Chicago Ridge Nursing and Rehab on March 3;
Monica Guardado vs Ralph's Grocery Company d/b/a Food 4 Less Midwest on March 3. A subsidiary of Kroger, Ralph's Grocery Company operates around 185 stores across the country, including in the Chicago area;
Martha P. Arvalo vs RDI Inc. on March 3. RDI is a small Chicago based business offering computer and television recycling services;
Enrique Zamudio vs Charter Precision LLC on March 3. Charter Precision is a small Elgin business which manufactures steel screw machine products.
Attorneys Brandom M. Wise and Adam Florek of Pfeiffer, Wolf, Carr, Kane, Conway & Wise, of St. Louis, and Chris Jennings of the Johnson Firm, Little Rock, Arkansas, are representing a new class action by named plaintiff Shawn Daise against Motivate, International, Inc. filed March 9. Motivate International is a New York based company operating bike rental services across the country, including Illinois.
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