Payton v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.

Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit alleging that their employer’s practice of using fingerprint scans in connection with intermodal freight transportation violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Defendant moved for summary judgment by arguing that they were exempt from the Act because they had two contracts with the state of Illinois and the Act excludes contractors working for a state agency. The district court denied the motion and certified the issue for interlocutory appeal. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, explaining that the employer’s contracts with the state had nothing to do with intermodal freight and, as such, the activities giving rise to the complaint were not precluded by the statutory exception. (SCUDDER and PRYOR, concurring)