In the Illinois Supreme Court's latest ruling in the biometric privacy space, it decided in Walton v. Roosevelt University that claims brought under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by union employees are preempted by the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) where an employer invokes a broad management rights provision in a collective bargaining agreement.

This ruling, which is consistent with federal court decisions addressing the issue, is a rare win for defendants facing BIPA class actions. Employers with unionized workforces may now assert a LMRA preemption defense in seeking dismissal of BIPA claims based on decisions issued by Illinois's highest state court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Case Background

An employee alleged that when he started working at Roosevelt University in 2018, Roosevelt required him to enroll a scan of his hand geometry onto a biometric timekeeping device as a means of clocking in and out of work. He sued Roosevelt the following year, alleging that the university violated BIPA in connection with Roosevelt's use of the timekeeping system by:

• Failing to develop a written policy made available to the public, establishing a retention policy and guidelines for destroying biometric data.
• Collecting his biometric data without providing him with the requisite notice and obtaining his written consent.
• Disclosing his biometric data without consent.
  

Roosevelt moved to dismiss the case on the basis that...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMid2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnNocm0ub3JnL3Jlc291...