Illinois Chain Sunset Food Mart Loses Appeal, Will Face Biometric Privacy Class Action

Sunset Food Mart BIPA Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: A Sunset Food Mart employee sued the grocery chain.
• Why: The plaintiff accuses Sunset of violating biometric privacy laws by requiring her and other employees to clock in and out with their handprints.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois state court.

A Seventh Circuit panel ruled that a federal judge was right to remand, or send back, a biometric privacy class action lawsuit against Illinois chain Sunset Food Mart to state court.

The class action lawsuit, led by Sunset employee Ranita Railey, alleges the grocery chain violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act by requiring its employees to clock in and out of work by placing their hands on a biometric scanner without first informing employees or collecting their permission for the collection and use of their biometric data. 

The Seventh Circuit panel ruled that the case belongs in state court due to a home-state exception in the Class Action Fairness Act, which allows state jurisdiction when at least two-thirds of the class members and the “primary” defendants are citizens of the state where the suit was filed. In this case, Ranita Railey, all putative class members, and Sunset Food Mart are Illinois citizens. 

Sunset Food Mart Misses Filing Deadline

This latest panel ruling follows Sunset arguing for removal of the case in November 2020, claiming that Railey’s claims were preempted by the Labor Management Relations Act — and therefore not bound by BIPA — due to Railey’s confirmation of her membership in a labor union in October. 

Initially, Sunset had 30 days to request removal after a January 2020 response to Railey’s first request for documents, as ordered by the district court. However, the Seventh Circuit panel ruled that Sunset had 30 days after Railey first filed the class action lawsuit in February 2019. 

In any case, Sunset missed the deadline to file for preemption-based removal. 

The panel noted that the initial complaint contained all the information Sunset would need “with hardly any effort” to confirm the labor union membership status of Railey and class members, and therefore shouldn’t have needed until October 2020 to receive her confirmation. 

What do you think about companies requiring biometric data to clock in and out? Sound off in the comments below!

The plaintiff is represented by Alejandro Caffarelli and Madeline K. Engel of Caffarelli & Associates LTD.

The Sunset Food Mart BIPA Class Action Lawsuit is Railey, et al. v. Sunset Food Mart Inc., Case No.  21-2533, in the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

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