Roberts v. Paramount Staffing, Inc. Frequently Asked Questions

 

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The court authorized Notice of a proposed Settlement in a class action lawsuit, Roberts v. Paramount Staffing, Inc., No. 2017-CH-15522 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cnty.), pending in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois before the Honorable Judge Allen P. Walker. The Settlement would resolve a lawsuit brought on behalf of persons who allege that Paramount Staffing, Inc. (“Defendant”) required its workers to provide a scan of their biometric identifiers (such as hand or facial geometry, fingers, or eyes) for timekeeping purposes without first providing them with legally-required written disclosures and obtaining written consent. If you received  Notice, you have been identified as someone who may have been subject to Paramount Staffing’s biometric timekeeping practices in Illinois between November 22, 2012 and December 31, 2017 without first signing a written release authorizing the collection of your biometric data. The Court has granted Preliminary Approval of the Settlement and has conditionally certified the Settlement Class for purposes of settlement only. This website, including the Long Form Notice and these FAQs, explains the nature of the class action lawsuit, the terms of the Settlement, and the legal rights and obligations of the Settlement Class Members.

The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), 740 ILCS 14/1, et seq., prohibits private companies from capturing, obtaining, storing, transferring, and/or using the biometric identifiers and/or information, such as fingerprints, hand geometry, facial geometry, or retina scans of another individual for any purpose, including timekeeping, without first providing such individual with certain written disclosures and obtaining written consent. This lawsuit alleges that Defendant violated BIPA by requiring its workers at its facility within the state of Illinois to provide a scan of their face, finger, or other biometric identifiers for timekeeping purposes without first providing the required disclosures or obtaining the required consent. The Complaint in the lawsuit is available here, and contains all of the allegations and claims that will be resolved through this Settlement. Defendant contests these claims and denies that it violated BIPA.

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 Defendant and its affiliated entities. The Settlement requires Defendant to pay money to the Settlement Class, as well as pay Settlement Administration Expenses, attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel, and an Incentive Award to the Class Representative, if approved by the Court. The Settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by Defendant and does not imply that there has been, or would be, any finding that Defendant 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, to voice their support or opposition to final approval of the Settlement, and to submit a Claim Form to receive the relief offered by the Settlement. If the Court does not give Final Approval of 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 a member of the Settlement Class if, at any time between November 22, 2012 and December 31, 2017, you scanned your face, finger, or other biometric identifier for timekeeping and/or identity verification purposes while working for Paramount Staffing, Inc. If you are a member of the Settlement Class, click here to submit a claim for cash benefits.

(1) Submit A Claim Form. To accept the Settlement, you must submit a Claim Form by August 12, 2021. You may submit your Claim Form online by clicking here or you may obtain a copy of the Claim Form here and send your Claim Form via email to [email protected] or by mail to the Settlement Administrator via at Roberts v. Paramount Staffing, Inc., c/o Settlement Administrator, PO Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324, postmarked by August 12, 2021. If the Settlement is approved and your claim is deemed valid, a check will be mailed to you. Submitting a valid and timely Claim Form is the only way to receive a payment from this Settlement and is the only thing you need to do to receive a payment.

(2) 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 the Released Parties (as that term is defined in the Settlement Agreement) and are free to pursue whatever legal rights you may have by pursuing your own lawsuit against the Released Parties at your own risk and expense. To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail a signed letter to the Settlement Administrator at Roberts v. Paramount Staffing, Inc., c/o Settlement Administrator, PO Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324. You may also exclude yourself online on this Website by July 22, 2021. The exclusion letter must state that you exclude yourself from this Settlement and must include the name and case number of this Litigation, as well as your full name, address, telephone number, and email address, and a statement that you wish to be excluded from the Settlement Agreement.

(3) Object to the Settlement. If you wish to object to the Settlement, you must submit your objection in writing to the Clerk of the Court of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street. Room 802, Chicago, Illinois 60602. The objection must be postmarked no later than July 22, 2021. You must also send a copy of your objection to the attorneys for all Parties to the lawsuit, including Class Counsel (Evan M. Meyers and Timothy P. Kingsbury of McGuire Law, P.C., 55 West Wacker Drive, 9th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60601), as well as Defendant Paramount Staffing’s counsel (J. Hayes Ryan and Brian H. Myers of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP, 1 N. Franklin Street, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606) postmarked no later than July 22, 2021. Any objection to the proposed Settlement must include your (i) full name, address, telephone number, and email address; (ii) the case name and number of this Litigation; (iii) all grounds for the objection, with factual and legal support for the stated objection, including any supporting materials; (iv) the identification of any other objections you have filed, or have had filed on your behalf, in any other class action cases in the last four years; and (v) 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 July 22, 2021. 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 will be held via Zoom (Meeting ID: 955 0046 1687, Password: 640378) on August 27, 2021 at 9:30 a.m., in Courtroom 2402 of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois 60602, personally or through counsel to show cause why the proposed Settlement should not be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate. Participating in the hearing is not necessary; however, persons wishing to be heard orally in opposition to the Final 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. The Hearing date and time, and whether the Hearing will be conducted remotely, is subject to change by the Court, so please check this Website for updates.

(4) Do Nothing. If you do nothing, you will receive no money from the Settlement Fund, but you will still be bound by all orders and judgments of the Court. Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will not be able to file or continue a lawsuit against Defendant or other Released Parties regarding any of the Released Claims. Submitting a valid and timely Claim Form is the only way to receive a payment from this Settlement.

To submit a Claim Form, or for information on how to request exclusion from the class or file an objection, please review the information above, call (844) 702-2781, or contact Class Counsel at 312-893-7002.

Cash Payments. Defendant has agreed to create a $1,500,000 Settlement Fund for the Class Members, which will be used to pay valid claims, settlement administration expenses, attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, and a Class Representative incentive award. All Settlement Class Members are entitled to submit a Claim Form in order to receive a cash payment out of the Settlement Fund. If the Settlement is approved, each Settlement Class Member who submits a timely Claim Form that is deemed valid will be entitled to an equal payment paid out of the Settlement Fund. The exact amount of each Class Member’s payment is unknown at this time and depends on unknown factors to be determined, including the total number of valid Claim Forms submitted. The Settlement Administrator will issue a check to each Class Member who submits a valid Claim Form following Final Approval of the Settlement. All checks issued to Settlement Class Members will expire and become void 100 days after they are issued. Additionally, the attorneys who brought this lawsuit (listed below) will ask the Court to award them attorneys’ fees in an amount up to 35% of the Settlement Fund, plus their reasonable costs and expenses, for the substantial time, expense and effort spent investigating the facts, litigating the case and negotiating the Settlement. The Class Representative also will apply to the Court for a payment of up to $10,000 for her time, effort, and service in this matter.

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 Defendant and the Released Parties relating to the use of employees’ biometric identifiers for timekeeping purposes. Giving up your legal claims is called a release. The precise terms of the release are contained in the Settlement Agreement, which is available here.  Unless you formally exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will release your claims whether or not you submit a Claim Form and receive payment. 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.

The Parties cannot predict exactly when (or whether) the Court will give Final Approval of 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 will be available on this Website, or you can call the Settlement Administrator at (844) 702-2781, or contact Class Counsel at the phone number or email addresses provided in FAQ 11.

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 Incentive Award that may be sought by Class Counsel. The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing on August 27, 2021 at 9:30 am via Zoom (Meeting ID: 955 0046 1687, Password: 640378). The hearing date and time, and whether the hearing will be conducted remotely, is subject to change by the Court, so please check the Settlement Website for updates.

If the Settlement is given final approval, the Court will not make any determination as to the merits of the claims against Defendant 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 Fund. 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 Plaintiff and Defendant will continue to litigate the lawsuit. The hearing date and time, and whether the hearing will be conducted remotely, is subject to change by the Court, so please check this Website for updates.

The Court has approved the following attorneys to represent the Settlement Class. They are called “Class Counsel.” You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer instead, you may hire one at your own expense.
Myles McGuire
Evan M. Meyers
Timothy P. Kingsbury
MCGUIRE LAW, P.C 
55 W. Wacker Dr., 9th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
Tel: 312-893-7002

This is only a summary of the proposed Settlement of this lawsuit. More details are in the Settlement Agreement which, along with other documents, can be obtained here. If you have any questions, you can call also call the Settlement Administrator at (844) 702-2781 or contact Class Counsel at the phone number or email addresses set forth above. In addition to the documents available on this website, all pleadings and documents filed in court may be reviewed or copied in the Office of the Clerk. Please do not call the Judge or the Clerk of the Court about this case. They will not be able to you advice on your options.
This website is authorized by the Court, supervised by counsel and controlled by Heffler Claims, the Settlement Administrator approved by the Court. This is the only authorized website for this case.

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Documents

Please read for a full explanation of the settlement and your options and all applicable timelines.

Contact

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Submit Claim

Click here to safely and securely submit a Claim Form.

Exclusion

Click here to safely and securely submit an Exclusion.

Important Dates

  • Deadline to Exclude Yourself from the Settlement Class

    Thursday, July 22, 2021  

  • Deadline to Object to the Settlement

    Thursday, July 22, 2021  

  • Deadline to Submit a Claim Form

    Thursday, August 12, 2021  

  • Final Approval Hearing at 9:30am

    Friday, August 27, 2021  

Important Documents

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