BIPA Rulings by Illinois Supreme Court Expose Companies to Millions in Additional Damages

Two recent rulings by the Illinois Supreme Court interpreting the state’s controversial Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) raise the stakes for covered Illinois employers that use biometric information. Claims brought under BIPA and their attendant penalties accrue each time—not solely the first time—that an employer unlawfully collects or discloses biometric information covered by the law, the Illinois Supreme Court recently held in Cothron v. White Castle System. In a ruling two weeks earlier in Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, the state’s high court concluded that a five-year statute of limitations applies to all BIPA claims.

Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.