This is a court authorized notice of a proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit, Grabowska v. The Millard Group, LLC, No. 2017-CH-13730, pending in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois before the Honorable Judge Alison C. Conlon. The Settlement would resolve a lawsuit brought on behalf of persons who allege that The Millard Group, LLC (“Defendant”) required its employees to provide a scan of biometrics for timekeeping purposes without complying with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS § 14/1, et seq. (“BIPA”). If you received notice, you have been identified as someone who was a union member and may have used Defendant’s timekeeping system in Illinois on or after September 4, 2015. The Court has granted preliminary approval of the Settlement and has preliminarily certified the Settlement Class for purposes of settlement only. This notice explains the nature of the class action lawsuit, the terms of the Settlement, and the legal rights and obligations of the Settlement Class Members. Please read the instructions and explanations below so that you can better understand your legal rights.

BIPA prohibits private entities from capturing, obtaining, storing, transferring, and/or using biometric identifiers and/or biometric information, such as fingerprints, of an 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 allegedly collecting its workers’ biometric identifiers when such workers used Defendant’s timekeeping system in Illinois without Defendant first providing the workers required disclosures or obtaining the required consent. Defendant contests these claims and denies that it violated BIPA.

Cash Payments. Defendant has agreed to create a $544,114.00 Settlement Fund. If the Court approves the Settlement, and you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you will automatically receive an equal share of the Settlement Fund after deductions for the Settlement Administrator’s expenses, attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses for Class Counsel, and a Service Award for the Class Representative. The exact amount of each Class Member’s payment is unknown at this time, but the per-person payment is estimated to be approximately $150-175. 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 $10,000.00 for her time, effort, and service in this matter.

Non-Monetary Relief. Without admitting any liability, Defendant represents that, to the extent it is still using biometric timekeeping technology, it has taken steps to become BIPA compliant. Defendant further represents that it will remain BIPA compliant for as long as it uses such biometric timekeeping technology.

(1) Accept the Settlement. To accept the Settlement and receive payment from the Settlement Fund, you do not have to do anything. If the Court approves the Settlement, the Settlement Administrator will automatically send a check to your last known mailing address.

(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 Grabowska v The Millard Group, LLC BIPA Settlement, P.O. Box 2002, Chanhassen, MN 55317- 2002, postmarked by October 2, 2023. You may also exclude yourself online here by October 2, 2023. 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, 50 W. Washington Street, #802, Chicago, IL 60602. The objection must be postmarked no later than October 2, 2023. You must also send a copy of your objection to the attorneys for all Parties to the lawsuit, including Class Counsel (Timothy P. Kingsbury of McGuire Law, P.C., 55 West Wacker Drive, 9th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60601), as well as Defendant’s Counsel (Debra R. Bernard of Perkins Coie LLP, 110 N. Wacker Dr., Suite 3400), postmarked no later than October 2, 2023. 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 October 2, 2023. 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 on October 24, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom [Meeting ID: 974 5431 3798; Password: 501494] in Courtroom 2408 of the Circuit Court of Cook County, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, Illinois 60602, in person 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 a Service 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.

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 other Released Parties (as defined in the Settlement Agreement) relating to the use of its biometric timekeeping system. 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.

You may appear at the Final Approval Hearing, which will be held on October 24, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom [Meeting ID: 974 5431 3798; Password: 501494] in Courtroom 2408 of the Circuit Court of Cook County, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, Illinois 60602, in person 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 a Service 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.

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:

Evan M. Meyers
Timothy P. Kingsbury
MCGUIRE LAW, P.C
55 W. Wacker Dr., 9th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
Tel: 312-893-7002
emeyers@mcgpc.com
tkingsbury@mcgpc.com

Kasif Khowaja
THE KHOWAJA LAW FIRM, LLC.
8 S. Michigan Ave., 26th Fl.
Chicago, IL 60603
Tel: 312-566-8070
Kasif@Khowajalaw.com

James X. Bormes
LAW OFFICE OF JAMES X. BORMES, P.C.
8 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 2600
Chicago, IL 60603
Tel: 312-201-0575
jxbormes@bormeslaw.com

This is only a summary of the proposed Settlement of this lawsuit. More details are contained in the Settlement Agreement which, along with other documents, can be obtained here.

If you have any questions, you can also call the Settlement Administrator at 855-302-2162 or contact Class Counsel at the numbers or email addresses listed here. In addition to the documents available on the case 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 give you advice on your options.