The notice is court-authorized for a proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit pending in the Circuit Court of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Lake County, Illinois, captioned Leyli Funez, individually and on behalf of Themselves and all other similarly situated Persons known and unknown v. Ohio Medical, LLC, captioned as Case No. 2023 CH 46, and consolidated with cases Maria Elena Martinez Hernandez, et al. v. Ohio Medical, LLC (captioned as 23 CH 62) and Nicholas Strandberg, et al v. Ohio Medical, LLC (23 LA 619) (the “Lawsuit”). The Settlement will resolve the lawsuit brought on behalf of persons who allege Ohio Medical, LLC. (“Defendant” or “Ohio Medical”) required employees to provide their biometric identifiers and/or biometric information without first having a written policy and obtaining a written release. Defendant denies these allegations, denies violations of any law and denies all liability.

If you received a Notice, you have been identified by Defendant as someone who may have enrolled in and/or used a finger or hand scanning device while working for Defendant. The Court has granted preliminary approval of the Settlement Agreement and has conditionally certified the Settlement Class for purposes of settlement. The Notice explains the nature of the lawsuit, the terms of the Settlement Agreement, and the legal rights and obligations of the Settlement Class Members. Please read the instructions and explanations below so you can understand your rights.

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 biometric information, defined to include fingerprints, scans of hand or face geometry, without first providing such individual with certain written disclosures and obtaining a written release. This lawsuit alleges the Defendant violated BIPA. Defendant denies these allegations, denies violations of any law, and denies all liability.

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 relating to the allegations in the Lawsuit. The Settlement Agreement requires Defendant to pay money to the Settlement Class, as well as pay settlement administration expenses, attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel, and incentives award to the Class Representatives. 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. Defendant agreed to the Settlement to avoid the distraction and expense of continued litigation.

Cash Payments. Defendant has agreed to resolve this matter for the maximum amount of $345,600.00. All Settlement Class Members who do not exclude themselves from the settlement are entitled to receive a payment out of the Settlement Fund without taking any further action. If the Settlement is approved, each Settlement Class Member will be entitled to an equal payment from the Settlement Fund, less a pro rata share of deductions for settlement administration costs, attorneys’ fees and costs, and a service award to the Class Representative. The amount that each individual receives will depend on the Fee Award, the incentive award to the Class Representatives that the Court approves, and the administration expenses. The Settlement Administrator will issue a check to each Class Member following the final approval of the Settlement. All checks issued to Settlement Class Members will expire and become void one hundred fifty (150) days after they are issued. Additionally, the attorneys who brought this lawsuit (listed below) will ask the Court to award them attorneys’ fees of 33.3% of the Settlement Fund and costs, for the time, expense, and effort expended in investigating the facts, litigating the case, and negotiating the Settlement. The Class Representatives also will apply to the Court for a payment of up to $1,000.00 each for their time, effort, and service in this matter.

All individuals working or who worked for Ohio Medical, LLC in the state of Illinois and who had their purported biometric identifier(s) and/or biometric information collected, captured, otherwise obtained, used, received, converted, maintained, stored, shared, disseminated, or disclosed by Ohio Medical, LLC from January 1, 2016, through the date of the Preliminary Approval Order.

There are approximately 384 people who fall within the class definition.

1. Do Nothing.

   To accept the settlement, you do not have to do anything. You will receive a check via First Class U.S. Mail following final approval of the settlement if the Court approves the settlement.

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 Defendant and the Released Parties (as that phrase 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 timely send a written request for exclusion to the Settlement Administrator, Funez v. Ohio Medical LLC c/o Analytics Consulting LLC, PO Box 2002, Chanhassen MN 55317-2002, postmarked by March 22, 2025. The exclusion must include your name, address, and telephone number; the name and number of this case; a statement that you wish to be excluded from the Settlement Class; and a signature.

3. Object to the Settlement.

   If you wish to object to the Settlement, you must be a member of the Settlement Class and must not have requested to be excluded from the Settlement. To submit your objection, you must file a timely written statement of objection with the Court no later than March 22, 2025. You must also send a copy of your objection to the attorneys for all Parties to the lawsuit, including Class Counsel (addresses below), as well as the attorneys representing Defendant, Anthony J. Monaco and Jacob D. Caudill, Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP P.C., 330 North Wabash Avenue, Suite 3300 Chicago, Illinois 60611, postmarked no later than March 22, 2025. Any objection to the proposed Settlement must include the case name and number; the basis for and an explanation of the objection; your name, address, telephone number, and email address; a list of any other objections filed; a statement of whether you are represented by counsel and, if so, a list of all objections filed by that counsel; and a statement of whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing with or without counsel. In addition, any objection must be personally signed by you.

   You may appear at the Final Approval Hearing, which to be held on May 7, 2025 at 9:00 a.m., via Zoom, the link for such hearing available at Daily Remote Court Session Schedule (Official Site for the Circuit Court of Lake County), or in person in Room C-301 (or at such other time or location as the Court may order) in person or through counsel to show cause of why the proposed Settlement should not be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate. Attendance at the hearing is not necessary; however, persons wishing to be heard orally in opposition to the 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.

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, as defined in the Settlement Agreement, relating to the use of the alleged biometric Timekeeping System during the Class Period. Giving up your legal claims is called a release. The precise terms of the release are in the Settlement Agreement, which is available upon request. Unless you formally exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will release your claims against Defendant relating to the alleged capture, collection, storage, possession, transmission, conversion, disclosure, redisclosure, dissemination, transmittal, conversion, and/or other use of biometric identifiers and/or biometric information in connection with the use of the Timekeeping System.

The Parties cannot predict exactly when (or whether) the Court will give final approval to the Settlement Agreement, so please be patient. However, if the Court finally approves the Settlement, checks will go out approximately seven (7) days after the Court’s final approval order becomes final and non-appealable. If there is an appeal of the court’s order, payment will be delayed.

The Court has already given preliminary approval to the Settlement. A final hearing on the Settlement, called a Final Approval Hearing, will be held on May 7, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.  If the Settlement is given final approval, the Settlement Agreement’s terms will take effect and the Litigation 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, or 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 and Class Members will receive no benefits from the Settlement. Plaintiff, Defendant, and all of the Class Members will be in the same position as they were prior to the execution of the Settlement Agreement, and the Settlement Agreement will have no legal effect, no class will remain certified (conditionally or otherwise), and Plaintiff and Defendants will continue to litigate the lawsuit. If the Settlement is not approved, there can be no assurance that the Settlement Class will recover more than is provided in the Settlement, or indeed, anything at all.

James M. Dore and Daniel Schlade
Justicia Laboral LLC
6232 N. Pulaski Rd., Suite 300,
Chicago, IL 60646
(773) 415-4898
jdore@justicialaboral.com
dschlade@justicialaboral.com

The Notice 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 by contacting the Settlement Administrator:

Funez v. Ohio Medical, LLC
c/o Analytics Consulting LLC
PO Box 2002
Chanhassen MN 55317-2002
855-899-2089