Who's Involved?

This case names the AI vendor itself, HireVue, as the defendant - not the employers who used its software to interview these six plaintiffs.

The six plaintiffs

The named plaintiffs are six Illinois residents: Kristen Deyerler, Max Ellithorpe, Bryen Zimmerman, Christopher Coats, Nicolas Galindo, and William Phemister. Each alleges they interviewed for a job in Illinois using HireVue's video-interview platform while physically located in the state. Only one plaintiff, Max Ellithorpe, is alleged to have used "HireVue Assessments" - an optional add-on that analyzes recorded video with artificial intelligence - according to a declaration HireVue submitted from its former Senior Vice President of Product. Ellithorpe interviewed with Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the parent of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. (source: U.S. District Court, N.D. Ill., Memorandum Order)

HireVue, Inc.

HireVue is a Delaware corporation based in Utah that develops and sells software allowing employers to record and analyze video job interviews with artificial intelligence. It's the sole defendant in this case - the theory here is entirely about HireVue's own collection and handling of applicants' biometric data, not about any specific employer's hiring decision. HireVue argued Illinois courts had no authority over it at all, a jurisdictional challenge the court rejected. (source: U.S. District Court, N.D. Ill., Memorandum Order)

Health Care Service Corporation - used HireVue, but not sued

HCSC, headquartered in Chicago, is the company that used HireVue's software to interview Ellithorpe. HCSC is not a party to this case. Its Illinois headquarters turned out to matter a great deal procedurally: the court found that HireVue's decision to knowingly sell its software to an Illinois-based company was itself enough to let Illinois courts hear the case, even though HireVue itself has no significant physical presence in the state. That's a contrast with Baker v. CVS Health, also tracked on this site, where the employer (CVS) is the defendant and the AI vendor (also HireVue, in that case) was not sued at all. (source: U.S. District Court, N.D. Ill., Memorandum Order)

The court

The case was originally filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois (case 2022-CH-00719), then removed by HireVue to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where it was assigned to Judge Jeremy C. Daniel as case 1:22-cv-01284. After the federal case was voluntarily dismissed following settlement, the settlement itself is being finalized through a new class action filed in the Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois (case 2026LA00000141). (source: official settlement website)

For what actually happened and when, see the timeline.