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DAL Global Services BIPA class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: A federal judge denied DAL Global Services LLC’s motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed by its former employee Eric Nseumen.
- Why: Nseumen claims DAL, the company that provides Delta Airlines baggage handling services, violated the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act by requiring employees to clock in and out using a fingerprint scanner.
- Where: The class action lawsuit is pending Illinois federal court.
A federal judge will not dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against DAL Global Services LLC by a former airport baggage handler alleging the company violated the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA) by requiring employees to clock in and out of work using a fingerprint scanner.
Plaintiff Eric Nseumen, who worked for DAL at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport for around eight months in 2018, claims he never gave the company written permission to collect his biometric data and wasn’t given a data retention schedule or guidelines for how it planned to destroy it.
Delta Airlines baggage handler’s privacy claims beat dismissal
DAL — which provides Delta Airlines baggage services — argued in its motion to dismiss that the complaint was preempted by federal law that prohibits states from upholding laws relating to airline service.
US District Judge Matthew Kennelly rejected DAL’s argument, writing that BIPA “does not expressly refer in any way, shape, or form to airline-related services. And its impact on DAL’s services or prices is, at most, remote.”
“DAL says that its use of biometric identifiers affects security by ensuring that only authorized individuals are involved in handling air travelers’ baggage,” Kennelly said. “Assuming this qualifies as a ‘service’ for purposes of the ADA, there is no indication that BIPA’s requirements have any impact on it, let alone a significant impact.”
Kennelly, citing precedent, also rejected DAL’s claims that the complaint was exempted by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, and he disagreed with DAL’s argument that Nseumen couldn’t plausibly allege it violated its BIPA obligation to destroy biometric data.
Nseumen has said he will not be pursuing claims that DAL profited off of his biometric data.
In a similar complaint, Bimbo Bakeries recently agreed to a $295,000 class action settlement with employees to resolve claims it violated BIPA by requiring them to track their work hours with a fingerprint scanner.
Have you been required to clock in and out of work using a fingerprint scanner? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Eugene Y. Turin of McGuire Law PC.
The DAL Global Services BIPA Class Action Lawsuit is Nseumen v. DAL Global Services, LLC, Case No. 1:21-cv-02630, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
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