Illinois Supreme Court Won’t Reconsider Violation-per-Scan BIPA Ruling

The Illinois Supreme Court has upheld its previous decision regarding the Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA), stating that violations occur each time an unauthorized scan is made, even after facing concerns that this interpretation could lead to excessive damage awards harming businesses.

In the case of White Castle against Latrina Cothron, a White Castle store manager, the court reaffirmed that each unauthorized scan constitutes a new BIPA violation. White Castle argued that this could result in a massive $17 billion penalty against the company. However, the majority opinion emphasized that damage awards are at the discretion of the juries and can be adjusted to avoid exorbitant amounts.

The dissenting justices suggested that the court should have provided clearer guidelines on calculating damages to prevent overwhelming penalties. Under BIPA, penalties range up to $1,000 for unintentional violations and up to $5,000 for “willful” violations. Violations can occur through unauthorized scanning, sharing biometric information with others, or failing to disclose retention policies for such information.

In the ongoing class-action lawsuit involving Cothron, damages could potentially surpass $17 billion as it involves around 9,500 employees. White Castle had been using a third-party vendor to scan employee fingerprints for a decade after the enactment of BIPA, ceasing the practice only when Cothron filed the lawsuit.

Various business groups, including the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, urged the Supreme Court to reconsider its interpretation, claiming that many employers were unaware of actions violating the state law. The Chamber is collaborating with lawmakers to amend BIPA and establish more reasonable limits on potential damages.

In a related case, truck driver Richard Rogers filed a lawsuit against BNSF Railway Co. for requiring truckers to use a biometric scanner to enter its rail yards. The jury found that the Berkshire Hathaway-owned railroad had violated BIPA a staggering 45,600 times, resulting in a $228 million damages award calculated by multiplying the number of violations by the maximum penalty of $5,000. However, US District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly later reevaluated the damage award and, on June 30, ordered a new trial in which the sole issue to be considered is the amount of damages.

Source: Claims Journal

–

July 19, 2023 – by the FindBiometrics Editorial Team