Union Workers in ‘Uncharted Territory’ on Illinois Privacy Law

The Illinois Supreme Court has virtually shut the door on unionized workers’ lawsuits for alleged violations of a plaintiff-friendly state biometric privacy law, even as it set up messy proceedings when those workers try to bring claims in arbitration.

Lawsuits alleging violations of the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act are preempted if the worker who sued is covered by a collective bargaining agreement with a broad management rights clause, the state high court recently ruled. That leaves BIPA claims to the dispute resolution process set forth in the union contract—typically grievance arbitration.

But the justices provided scant guidance on what ...