The consolidated appeal involved three cases where workers claimed their employers violated BIPA by repeatedly scanning their fingerprints for timekeeping or facility access. Reginald Clay, a commercial truck driver, alleged Union Pacific Railroad collected his fingerprint scans approximately 1,500 times. John Gregg and Brandon Willis each alleged their employers collected their biometric data through workplace time clocks, with Willis filing his case as a putative class action risking billions in damages.
Chief Judge Diane Brennan wrote that the 2024 amendment is "remedial" under Illinois law, making it procedural rather than substantive and thus applicable to pending cases. "The amendment to BIPA Section 20 is a remedial change," Brennan wrote. "That makes it 'procedural' under Illinois law, so courts should apply the amendment to cases pending at the time the statute was enacted." The court noted that Illinois has long treated changes to statutory damages as procedural, allowing retroactive application.
The cases arose after the Illinois Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Cothron v. White Castle, which held that BIPA claims accrue with every biometric scan. That ruling sparked fears of "annihilative liability" for businesses, prompting the legislature to pass the 2024 amendment clarifying that multiple collections from the same person using the same method constitute only a single violation. The amendment took effect on August 2, 2024.
The ruling significantly reduces potential damages for BIPA plaintiffs, as Clay alone could have recovered $7.5 million under the pre-amendment interpretation. On remand, district courts must apply the new damages framework and may need to reconsider other aspects of the cases, including subject matter jurisdiction. The decision provides crucial guidance for the numerous BIPA cases pending in federal and state courts.