A class action lawsuit accuses Illinois Central Railroad of allegedly violating Illinois' biometrics privacy law by requiring truck drivers to scan their fingerprints when entering their railyards.
The lawsuit was filed May 10 in Cook County Circuit Court by attorneys Martin W. Jaszczuk and Margaret M. Schuchardt, of Jaszczuk P.C., of Chicago, and Matthew T. Peterson, of Matthew Peterson Consumer Law Advocate PLLC, of Chicago.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of named plaintiff Dylan Zlotnik.
The lawsuit claims Illinois Central Railroad allegedly violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The lawsuit claims that the company illegally collected and disseminated workers' biometric identifiers and information without informed written consent.
The lawsuit argues that Illinois Central Railroad used biometric identification systems at its facilities in Illinois for identity verification. Truck drivers, including Zlotnik, allegedly were required to provide their biometric identifiers and related information to identify them. However, it is alleged that the company did not comply with BIPA's requirements of informing individuals in writing about the collection or storage of their biometrics, nor did they obtain a written release from individuals for collecting their biometrics.
The lawsuit seeks statutory damages and attorneys’ fees and costs on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated. Under the BIPA law, plaintiffs can demand statutory damages of $1,000-$5,000 per violation. The Illinois Supreme Court has interpreted that law to define individual violations as each time someone's biometric identifiers are scanned. Thus, when multiplied across entire workforces, scanning their fingerprints or other identifiers multiple times each day, the total payout demand can quickly climb into the many millions of dollars or more.