Link: Miller v. Southwest Airlines Co., 18-cv-86 (N.D. Ill., Aug. 23, 2018)
Plaintiffs, through counsel Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, LLC, filed a class action against Southwest Airlines alleging they violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1, et seq., by requiring employees to scan their fingerprint but (1) did not provide notice to employees regarding the biometric timekeeping program; (2) did not obtain written informed consent from the employees who are required to use the biometric timekeeping program; and (3) failed to publish data retention and deletion policies for its employees. Defendant removed the state case to federal court, then filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under rule 12(b)(6) and that Plaintiff’s claims are preempted by the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. § 181. The RLA governs collective bargaining agreements in the railroad and airline industries.
Judge Marvin E. Aspen agreed that Plaintiff met its burden under Article III standing under Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S. Ct. 1540, 1547 (2016), and thus did not dismiss the case under 12(b)(6). However the court granted Southwest’s motion to dismiss for improper venue under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3) because Plaintiff’s claims are subject to mandatory arbitration or collective bargaining negotiations under their collective bargaining agreements and the RLA.