The Illinois Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated opinion on the state’s biometric privacy law Friday, leaving the door open for massive damages when companies are found to violate residents’ privacy rights but suggesting lawmakers revisit the issue.
The case involves Ohio-based fast-food company White Castle. Latrina Cothron, a Chicago-based White Castle manager, alleged she was required to use a fingerprint scan in order to access her paystubs at White Castle without prior consent in violation of the law.
Privacy attorneys and experts have closely watched for the Supreme Court’s decision in the Cothron case because of the potential for a ruling that could allow damages to accrue each and every time Cothron and other White Castle employees scanned their fingerprints over the course of their employment.
