Employment Law and Labour Law

Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act has undergone significant changes following the Cothron v. White Castle decision, which initially allowed damages on a per-scan basis and created potential liability in the billions. The recent Seventh Circuit ruling in Clay v. Union Pacific Railroad Co. fundamentally reshapes the damages framework by confirming that the 2024 amendment applies retroactively, limiting recovery to a per-person basis rather than per-scan.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has submitted a proposal to rescind federal EEO reporting requirements, including EEO-1 through EEO-5 obligations and related demographic data collection. While this aligns with the Trump Administration's focus on reducing DEI initiatives, employers face uncertainty about whether 2026 reporting obligations remain in effect as the proposal undergoes the administrative rulemaking process.

Although there appear to be some changes coming to Illinois employment laws this year (amendments that have passed by the Illinois Legislature and await the Governor’s signature)...