Biometric Privacy Claims Partly Blocked Due to Union Contract

A former Illinois factory worker’s claims that Bimbo Bakeries violated state law through its collection of employee fingerprints are preempted for the months she was covered by a union contract, a federal district judge found.

The worker, Lisa Peatry, alleged her employer didn’t follow the requirements of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act in the way it collected, retained, and shared fingerprint data. The company used a fingerprint scanner for employee timekeeping at its factory in Cicero, Ill., where Peatry worked from 2016 until February 2019.

Bimbo Bakeries, the U.S. arm of Grupo Bimbo, argued Peatry’s claims were preempted ...