On February 3, 2022, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in McDonald v. Symphony Bronzeville Park, LLC, [1] that the exclusivity provisions of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act (“Compensation Act”) do not preempt employees’ claims for statutory damages against their employers under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). This long-awaited decision effectively nullifies the preemption defense under the Compensation Act and will only serve to bolster the onslaught of claims alleging technical violations of BIPA in the employment context.
