Authorized by the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois
Did you scan your finger at an Alden facility in Illinois between September 27, 2012 and August 30, 2017?
There is a class action lawsuit, and you may be a class member.
If you want to be part of the class action, you do not need to do anything. If you do not want to be part of the class action, you need to opt out by May 14, 2025.
Important things to know:
If you take no action, you will be part of the case, and your rights will be affected.
If you don’t want to be a part of this lawsuit, you need to exclude yourself through one of the following four options: (1) send in the form you received by mail to the address listed on the postcard provided to you in the mail; (2) send an opt-out letter to Umland v. Alden Management Services, Inc. c/o Notice Administrator, P.O. Box 25226 Santa Ana, CA 92799; (3) send an email to info@AldenBIPAClassAction.com; or (4) submit an electronic opt-out form here. You must do so no later than May 14, 2025. A request to be excluded must provide your name, address, and state that you want to be excluded from the lawsuit.
The Court authorized the Notice to explain that the Court has allowed, or “certified,” a class action lawsuit that may affect you. You have legal rights and options that you may exercise in this case, as described below. Judge Caroline Kate Moreland of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois is overseeing this class action. The lawsuit is known as Umland v. Alden Management Services, Inc., No. 17-CH-13046 (Cir. Ct. Cook. Cty.)
This lawsuit was brought on behalf of people who had their biometric finger scan data collected and stored through finger-scanning timeclocks at Alden facilities in Illinois between September 27, 2012 and August 30, 2017. The Defendant, Alden Management Services, Inc., provides operational support services to these facilities. If you received a postcard notice about this case, our records indicate that you are a member of the group of people affected, called the “class.” The notice gives you information about the case and tells you how to opt out if you don’t want to be part of it.
The Notice is an important legal document, and we recommend that you read all of it.
Read the Notice to understand the case and to determine if you are a class member. Then, decide if you want to stay in the case or opt out.
The deadline to ask to be excluded from the case is May 14, 2025.
This is the definition of the class that the court approved:
All individuals who enrolled their finger on a finger-scan timeclock at an AMS Facility in the State of Illinois and had their finger template data stored or hosted by AMS between September 27, 2012 and August 30, 2017.
Excluded from the class are (1) individuals who were members of a union while working for an AMS Facility, (2) any Judge or Magistrate presiding over this action and members of their families, (3) Defendants, Defendants’ subsidiaries, parent companies, successors, predecessors, and any entity in which Defendants or its parents have a controlling interest, (4) persons who properly execute and file a timely request for exclusion from the Class, and (5) the legal representatives, successors or assigns of any such excluded persons.
If you are not sure whether you are included in the class, you can call the Umland v. Alden Class Action Administrator at (833) 296-0728. Or you can get free help by calling the lawyers in this case at 1-866-354-3015.
In a class action, the court approves class representatives and lawyers to work on the case and represent the interests of all the class members. For purposes of the case, the Court has approved the following lawyers.
Your lawyers: J. Eli Wade-Scott and Schuyler Ufkes of Edelson PC, and David Fish of Workplace Law Partners, PC. These are the lawyers who are bringing the case on your behalf. You will not be charged for their services, although their fees may be paid—with the Court's approval—from any money that is obtained for the class or paid separately by Defendant.
If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.
The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), 740 ILCS 14/1, et seq., 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 can include things like your fingerprint, faceprint, or a scan of your iris.
Plaintiff used to work as a nurse at one of the thirty-two Alden facilities in Illinois, and while working there, she had to scan her finger on a finger-scanning timeclock to clock in and out of work. This lawsuit alleges that AMS violated her and the class’s rights under BIPA by collecting their biometric fingerprint data in Illinois without giving notice or getting consent.
Defendant denies that it did anything wrong.
You can read a copy of the Plaintiff’s Complaint and the Defendant’s Answer to it in the Important Documents section of this website.
No, the Court has not decided whether the Plaintiff or the Defendant is correct. By certifying the Class and issuing the Notice, the Court is not suggesting that the Plaintiff will win or lose this case. Unless the case settles, Plaintiff must prove her claims at a trial or through legal motions to recover money.
The Plaintiff is asking the Court to award each Class Member statutory monetary damages in an amount of $1,000 for each negligent violation of BIPA, or $5,000 for each reckless or intentional violation of BIPA. Plaintiff is also asking the Court to state that Defendant’s actions violated the law and to enter an order requiring that Defendant institute procedures to ensure compliance with BIPA. Plaintiff is also seeking reasonable attorneys' fees and reimbursement of her costs for litigating this case.
No money or benefits are available now because the Court has not decided whether Defendant did anything wrong, and the two sides have not settled the case. There is no guarantee that money or benefits will ever be obtained. If they are, and you do not exclude yourself from the Class, you will be notified about how the money will be distributed among class members and what your other options are at that time.
The parties will continue to pursue legal action and prepare the case for trial, unless the two sides decide to settle the case.
The Defendant has filed a motion for summary judgment, which seeks a ruling in their favor on Plaintiff’s claims without a trial. The Plaintiff has opposed this motion. The Court has not yet decided the Defendant’s motion, which may impact your rights if you elect to remain as a class member. A copy of the motion and opposition are here.
If the Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is granted, it would resolve the case in the Defendant’s favor without a trial. If Defendant’s motion is denied and there is no appeal or settlement, the case will proceed to trial as a class action.
If the Plaintiff obtains money or benefits after a trial (and after any appeal is concluded), or reaches a settlement with the Defendant, and you have not excluded yourself from the Class, you will be notified about how the money will be distributed among class members and what your other options are at that time. There is no guarantee that any benefits will be available or how long that process might take.
You have two options. You can do nothing and stay in the case, or you can opt out of the case.
If you do nothing, you will be part of the case and your rights will be affected by the outcome. You won’t be able to start, continue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Alden Management Services, Inc. about the issues in this case and you will be bound by the outcome of the case.
If Plaintiff and Class Counsel win or settle, class members may be entitled to money. If Defendant wins, class members will receive nothing.
You can opt out. If you don’t want to be a part of this lawsuit, or if you want to pursue your own claims against Defendant relating to the conduct at issue in this lawsuit, you need to ask to be excluded from the Class. If you exclude yourself from the Class—which is sometimes called “opting out” of the Class—you won’t get any money or benefits from this lawsuit if any are awarded or obtained as a result of the trial, legal motions, or from any settlement (if the case is settled) between the Defendant and the Plaintiff. However, if you exclude yourself, you will keep your claims against the Defendant, and will be able to separately sue, make a claim against, and/or resolve your claims against the Defendant on your own, for the same conduct at issue in this case. If you exclude yourself, you will not be legally bound by the Court’s judgments in this class action.
You have the right to talk to your own lawyer about your rights, including your decision about whether to opt out of the case.
To opt out of the case, you have four options available. First, you may send in the form you received by mail to the address listed on the postcard provided to you in the mail. Second, you may send a letter expressing your desire to opt out to the address below. Third, you may send an email expressing your desire to opt out to the email address below. Fourth, you may opt out electronically here.
Your letter, email, or opt-out form must state that you want to be excluded from the Class in Umland v. Alden Management Services, Inc., No. 17-CH-13046 (Cir. Ct. Cook. Cty. Ill.) and include your mailing address. You must mail or submit your exclusion request no later than May 14, 2025. If you do not submit an electronic opt-out form, the address(es) to which you may send an opt-out request are:
By Mail:
Umland v. Alden Management Services, Inc.
c/o Notice Administrator
P.O. Box 25226
Santa Ana, CA 92799
(833) 296-0728
By email:
info@AldenBIPAClassAction.com
In your opt-out letter or email, be sure to include your name and address. You may also submit your email address and telephone number, but you are not required to do so.
You can’t exclude yourself over the phone. No person may request to be excluded through “mass” or “class” opt-outs. Each request for exclusion must be separately submitted.
Again, you must opt out no later than May 14, 2025.
The Notice summarizes the certification decision. There are more details in the case documents. To get a copy of the case documents or get answers to your questions:
Resource | Case Information |
Toll Free Number | (833) 296-0728 |
Class Administrator | Umland v. Alden Management Services, Inc. |
Your Lawyers | Schuyler Ufkes |
Court (DO NOT CONTACT) | Judge Caroline Kate Moreland |
Clerk’s Office | Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County |
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