Jeremy Glenn and Melissa Siebert were quoted in a Law360 article highlighting significant Illinois court decisions issued during the first half of 2026, including rulings affecting biometric privacy litigation and employer exposure under the state's wage laws.
Discussing the Seventh Circuit's decision to apply a 2024 amendment to Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) retroactively, Melissa noted that the ruling is “hugely meaningful” for companies defending BIPA claims because it introduces considerations such as post-use consent and judicial discretion into the analysis. She explained that those factors may help resolve matters that previously could not be settled, stating that “cases can settle that couldn't settle before.”
Melissa also noted that the ruling will shift the focus of future litigation, stating “Where the battle is going to be now is ‘What does at most mean? What’s your discretion, judge? And if you have that discretion, how are you supposed to exercise that?’”
Addressing another significant Illinois ruling, Jeremy drew parallels to similar developments in Pennsylvania, stating, “There's no question” that employees who previously lacked a viable legal pathway to pursue wage-and-hour litigation in Illinois now have “an absolute gateway” to do so.
Jeremy also noted that the decisions leave many unanswered questions regarding what types of pre- and post-shift activities qualify as compensable work time, and that courts will likely need to address a range of issues, including whether routine activities such as walking from a parking lot to a building entrance or time clock are compensable. “There will be a lot of things to explore,” he said.
Jeremy additionally observed that the current uncertainty surrounding the scope of compensable activities may temper immediate changes in case valuations. While the rulings will influence both sides’ assessment of wage-and-hour claims, he stated “in the short term, I don't see an impact on higher settlement values until there's more certainty from the courts.”
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