BNSF Gets October Trial to Fight $228 Million Fingerprint Fine

BNSF Railway Co. will head to trial Oct. 2 in its bid to pare down the $228 million penalty it faces for collecting workers’ fingerprints in violation of Illinois’ landmark privacy law.

Settlement discussions “have not been fruitful,” Michael Gray, the Jones Day partner representing BNSF, told Northern District of Illinois Judge Matthew Kennelly Tuesday.

“We’ve been talking, but it doesn’t look good,” Gray said.

BNSF at a trial last year was found to have violated the Illinois Biometric Information Protection Act 45,600 times by collecting workers’ biometric information without their informed consent. ...