⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

Commercial truck drivers say Union Pacific collected their fingerprints when they entered Illinois rail freight terminals between 2013 and 2021. They sued under Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA, which regulates private collection of biometric data. Union Pacific also ran commuter trains and did rail projects for Illinois governments, so it claims an exemption for contractors when working for a state or local government. The district judge denied a blanket exemption: those government contracts did not themselves show that fingerprinting truck drivers was within the government work. This appeal comes before the underlying case is finished. The panel must decide whether a government contract at the same time is enough, or whether the fingerprinting itself must connect to that work. Gary Feinerman of Latham and Watkins, a former federal judge, represents Union Pacific and will argue for the time-only reading. When the lawyers say surplusage, they mean a reading that leaves some words in the law with no job to do.

Payton v. Union Pacific Railroad Company (No. 26-1946) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, argued September 23, 2026.