CHICAGO — A federal judge has ordered a new trial for BNSF Railway on damages in a case that found the railroad violated the privacy of truck drivers by collecting their fingerprints to access intermodal facilities.
That decision overturns the $228 million in damages originally awarded in the class action suit, which found BNSF had violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, which limits the collection and use of fingerprints, retinal scans, and other data [see “BNSF ordered to pay $228 million …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 13, 2022]. The original decision found BNSF guilty of recklessly or intentionally violating the law 45,600 times, and fined BNSF $5,000 for each violation.
Reuters reports that U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly upheld the verdict that BNSF had violated the law, but said damages were discretionary and BNSF is “entitled to have a jury determine the appropriate amount.”
Truck driver Richard Rogers filed suit over the need to use his fingerprints to access BNSF intermodal facilities in the Chicago area, and said the railroad failed to disclose the purpose of collecting fingerprints or to publish a date retention policy as required under the state law.
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