Another class action, but this time the protagonist is Sysco. In case you don’t know Sysco, it’s a food distribution company that provides food, equipment and supplies to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, hotels and other customers in the United States. In 2023, the company experienced a technological issue and thousands of people’ digital privacy and personal data were at risk. As a consequence, Sysco is facing a class action lawsuit and every affected person was offered economic compensation. So, let’s see in more detail what this case is about.
What happened?
Nowadays, everything is digitalized and technology has a key role in companies, so it’s not rare for companies to get hacked. This is what happened to Sysco, in 2023, the company experienced a data breach making many people’s personal data at risk since others could have access to their private information without any authorization.
Sysco warned affected people about the issue, but they decided to start a class action against the company because their personal data wasn’t properly protected, which was Sysco’s responsibility.
What affected people plead
They said the company could have prevented this issue if the safety measures had been better. This meant the affected people had to invest a lot of money and time in protecting themselves from identity theft and frauds. THey are worried because they know they have more chances to suffer from identity theft in the future, as a consequence of Sysco’s data breach.
Sysco’s take on this situation
The company said nothing about being responsible for what happened, but there was a legal agreement to close the class action lawsuit and avoid a trial. The company agreed on paying $2.3 million, although it doesn’t mean the company is solving anything about the data breach.
Who is receiving the money?
Not everybody could receive this economic compensation so check out if you are part of this group: only those who live in the United States and received a direct notification from Sysco in May 2023 related to the cyberattack, could benefit from this agreement.
Be careful, because if you aren’t part of the affected group, you mustn’t file the claim. This will be considered fraud because you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury, so lying will have legal consequences.
How much will they receive?
Not everybody will receive the same amount of money, there are two types of benefits, so let’s explain them:
- Cost reimbursement up to $5,000 if you can show documents proving you spent money as a consequence of the data breach, for example, money used to deal with frauds or identity thefts, legal expenses, or other personal data misuses.
- An additional payment in cash, a residual payment. This is estimated to be between $100 and $200, but it could reach up to $599 depending on how many people submit a valid claim.
Apart from this financial compensation, the affected people will receive 2 years of free credit monitoring service including: identity theft insurance, dark web scanning, real-time credit monitoring with three major credit bureaus, and access to fraud resolution agents.
Proof of purchase
To finish the process, you must also send some documents along with the form to prove you have spent money due to the Sysco data breach. These are some of the documents you need: receipts, invoices, account statements, tax forms, IRS letters, and other documentation of data breach losses.
Save these dates!
Now that you know whether you can submit the claim or not, it’s important to save some important dates you don’t miss the chance to receive that benefit::
- Last day for exclusion and objection: 8th of August of 2025.
- Final approval hearing for the Sysco data breach settlement: 9th of October of 2025.
- Last day to submit a valid form to receive settlement benefits: 8th of September of 2025.
So, if you think you might be part of the affected group, check everything to confirm your situation and follow the dates to use your rights.