The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) prohibits private companies from capturing, obtaining, storing, and/or using the biometric identifiers and/or biometric information of another individual for any purpose, without first providing notice and getting consent in writing. Biometrics are things like your fingerprint, faceprint, or a scan of your iris.

This lawsuit alleges that Bedderman required its employees to provide their fingerprint scan for timekeeping purposes without first providing them with legally-required written disclosures and obtaining written consent. Bedderman denies these allegations and denies that it violated the Illinois Biometric information Privacy Act.

The Court has not decided who is right or wrong. The Settlement has been preliminarily approved by a court in Cook County, Illinois.

A class action is a lawsuit in which an individual called a “Class Representative” brings a single lawsuit on behalf of other people who have similar claims. All of these people together are a “Class” or “Class Members.” Once a Class is certified, a class action settlement finally approved by the Court resolves the issues for all Settlement Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

To resolve this matter without the expense, delay, and uncertainties of litigation, the Parties have reached a Settlement, which resolves all claims against Urban Holiday and the Releasees (as that term is defined in the Settlement Agreement). The Settlement requires Urban Holiday to pay money to the Settlement Class, as well as pay settlement administration expenses, attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel, and a service award to the Class Representative, if approved by the Court. The Settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by Urban Holiday and does not imply that there has been, or would be, any finding that Urban Holiday violated the law.

The Court has already preliminarily approved the Settlement. Nevertheless, because the settlement of a class action determines the rights of all members of the class, the Court overseeing this lawsuit must give final approval to the Settlement before it can be effective. The Court has conditionally certified the Settlement Class for settlement purposes only, so that members of the Settlement Class can be given this notice and the opportunity to exclude themselves from the Settlement Class, or to voice their support or opposition to final approval of the Settlement. If the Court does not give final approval to the Settlement, or if it is terminated by the Parties, the Settlement will be void, and the lawsuit will proceed as if there had been no settlement and no certification of the Settlement Class.

You are included in the Settlement if you were required to provide your fingerprint for employee timekeeping purposes by Bedderman at any time between January 12, 2016 through January 12, 2021.  If you received a notice of the Settlement in the mail or by e-mail, our records indicate that you are a Settlement Class Member and are included in the Settlement.

• Accept the Settlement.To accept the Settlement you do not need to do anything. If the Settlement is approved a check will be mailed to you at the same address at which you received this notice and you will be bound by the Settlement.  If you wish to change your address, you can find instructions for how to do so at Submit an Address Update.  You may also elect to receive payment to Paypal or other authorized electronic wallet on the settlement website.

• Exclude yourself.You may exclude yourself from the Settlement. If you do so, you will not receive any cash payment, but you will not release any claims you may have against Urban Holiday and the Releasees and are free to pursue whatever legal rights you may have by pursuing your own lawsuit against Urban Holiday at your own risk and expense. To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail a signed letter to the Settlement Administrator at Ugho v. Urban Holiday Management LLC, c/o Analytics Consulting LLC, PO Box 2002, Chanhassen, MN 55317-2002 postmarked by April 29, 2024. You may also exclude yourself online. The exclusion letter must include the name and case number of this litigation, as well as your full name, address, telephone number, a statement that you wish to be excluded, and have your signature.

• Object to the Settlement.

  If you wish to object to the Settlement, you must submit your objection in writing to the Clerk of Court of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, 50 West Washington Street, Room 1001, Chicago, Illinois 60602. The objection must be received by the Court no later than April 29, 2024.  You must also send a copy of your objection to the attorneys for all Parties to the lawsuit, including Class Counsel (Arun Ravindran, Esq., Hedin, LLP, 1395 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1140, Miami, Florida, 33134), as well as the attorneys representing Urban Holiday (David Ben-Dov and Margherita Albarello, Golan Christie Taglia LLP, 70 W. Madison, Suite 1500, Chicago, IL 60602), postmarked no later than April 29, 2024. Any objection to the proposed Settlement must include your (i) full name, address and current telephone number; (ii) the case name number of this Litigation; (iii) the date range during which you were employed by Urban Holiday; (iv) all grounds for the objection, with factual and legal support for the stated objection, including any supporting materials; and (v) the your signature.  If you hire an attorney in connection with making an objection, that attorney must also file with the Court a notice of appearance by the objection deadline of April 29, 2024. If you do hire your own attorney, you will be solely responsible for payment of any fees and expenses the attorney incurs on your behalf. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot file an objection.

  You may appear at the Final Approval Hearing, which is to be held on June 5, 2024 at 11:00 a.m., in Courtroom 2302 of the Circuit Court of Cook County, 50 West Washington Street, Chicago Illinois, 60602, in person or through counsel to show cause of why the proposed Settlement should not be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate. The final approval hearing may be held by videoconference pursuant to applicable administrative order.  Please consult the Clerk of Court’s website for information about accessing remote proceedings.

  Attendance at the hearing is not necessary; however, persons wishing to be heard orally in opposition to the approval of the Settlement, the request for attorneys’ fees and expenses, and/or the request for an incentive award to the Class Representative are required to indicate in their written objection their intention to appear at the hearing on their own behalf or through counsel and to identify the names of any witnesses they intend to call to testify at the Final Approval Hearing, as well as any exhibits they intend to introduce at the Final Approval Hearing.

Cash Payments. If the Settlement is approved, each Settlement Class Member will receive a cash  payment. The amount of such payment is anticipated to be around $900, but the exact amount is unknown at this time. This is an equal share of a settlement fund that Bedderman has agreed to create totaling $214,200, less deductions of settlement administration costs, attorney’s fees, and a service award to the Named Plaintiff in the litigation approved by the Court.

More details are provided in the Settlement Agreement, which is available in Case Documents.

Unless you exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will be considered a member of the Settlement Class, which means you give up your right to file or continue a lawsuit against urban Holiday and the Releasees (as that term is defined in the Settlement Agreement) relating to the use of the biometric Time-keeping System at Urban Holiday from January 12, 2016, to January 12, 2021. Giving up your legal claims is called a release. The precise terms of the release are in the Settlement Agreement, which is available on the settlement website. Unless you formally exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will release your claims. If you have any questions, you can talk for free to the attorneys identified below who have been appointed by the Court to represent the Settlement Class, or you are welcome to talk to any other lawyer of your choosing at your own expense.

If you are a Settlement Class member and you want to get a payment, you do not have to do anything.

You may choose to receive your payment by Paypal, Venmo, Zelle, or paper check.

You may need to complete an IRS Form W-9 to satisfy IRS tax reporting obligations related to the payment. You may complete the Form W-9 now on the settlement website; doing so now will ensure that you receive your full payment as soon as possible.

To choose an electronic payment online, you will need your claim number and PIN, which you can find on the notice you received in the mail, or in the email you received. If you do not have your claim number and PIN, please call the Claims Administrator at (888) 284-9361.

The Parties cannot predict exactly when (or whether) the Court will give final approval to the Settlement, so please be patient. However, if the Court finally approves the Settlement, you will be paid as soon as possible after the court order becomes final, which should occur within approximately 60 days after the Settlement has been finally approved. If there is an appeal of the Settlement, payment may be delayed. Updated information about the case is available on this site, or you can call the Settlement Administrator at (888) 284-9361, or contact Class Counsel at the information provided below.

The Court has already given preliminary approval to the Settlement. A final hearing on the Settlement, called a Final Approval Hearing, will be held to determine the fairness of the Settlement. At the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will also consider whether to make final the certification of the Class for settlement purposes, hear any proper objections and arguments to the Settlement, as well as any requests for an award of attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses and a Class Representative Service Award that may be sought by Class Counsel. The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing on June 5, 2024 at 11:00 a.m., in Courtroom 2302 of the Circuit Court of Cook County, 50 West Washington Street, Chicago Illinois, 60602) and by Zoom at Zoom ID: 952 6244 1199 Password: 541722.  The final approval hearing may be held by videoconference pursuant to applicable administrative order.  Please consult the Clerk of Court’s website for information about accessing remote proceedings.

If the Settlement is given final approval, the Court will not make any determination as to the merits of the claims against Urban Holiday or its defenses to those claims. Instead, the Settlement’s terms will take effect and the lawsuit will be dismissed on the merits with prejudice. Both sides have agreed to the Settlement in order to achieve an early and certain resolution to the lawsuit, in a manner that provides specific and valuable benefits to the members of the Settlement Class.

If the Court does not approve the Settlement, if it approves the Settlement and the approval is reversed on appeal, or if the Settlement does not become final for some other reason, you will not be paid at this time and Class Members will receive no benefits from the Settlement. Plaintiff, Defendant, and all of the Class Members will be in the same position as they were prior to the execution of the Settlement, and the Settlement will have no legal effect, no class will remain certified (conditionally or otherwise), and the Plaintiff and Defendant will continue to litigate the lawsuit. There can be no assurance that if the Settlement is not approved, the Settlement Class will recover more than is provided in the Settlement, or indeed, anything at all.

The Court has approved the following attorney to represent the Settlement Class. He is called “Class Counsel.”  You will not be charged for this lawyer. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer instead, you may hire one at your own expense.

Arun Ravindran
HEDIN, LLP
1395 Brickell Avenue
Suite 1140
Miami, Florida, 33131
ARavindran@hedinllp.com
Tel: 305-357-2107

If you still have questions, you may call (888) 284-9361 toll-free to speak to the Settlement Administrator, or email at BeddermanBiometricsSettlement@noticeadministrator.com

More details are in a Settlement Agreement.  You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement in Case Documents.

You can also write with questions to:

Bedderman Biometrics Settlement
c/o Analytics Consulting LLC
P.O. Box 2002
Chanhassen, MN 55317-2002.

Finally, you can contact the lawyer representing class members at 305-357-2107