If you got a notice that your information was caught in the EMS LINQ school-software data breach, you can claim a $50 cash payment or up to $3,000 for documented losses — but the deadline is June 29, 2026.
What Is This Settlement About?
EMS LINQ, LLC — a company that provides administrative software to K-12 school districts — agreed to a class action settlement to resolve claims that it failed to protect personal information from a data breach. According to the litigation, an unauthorized party had access to LINQ's computing environment between September 12, 2023 and May 13, 2024 and may have obtained files containing personal information. Because school districts store student, family, and employee data in LINQ's systems, the people who received breach notices include parents, students, and school staff — many of whom had never heard of the company before the notice arrived.The lawsuit alleges EMS LINQ was negligent in safeguarding the data. The case is captioned Connor Law v. EMS LINQ, LLC, Case No. 1:24-cv-01533, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division. EMS LINQ denies the allegations and denies any wrongdoing; the court has not decided which side is right. Instead, both sides agreed to settle to avoid the cost and risk of continued litigation while giving affected people a way to recover compensation and protect their identities.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class is made up of all individuals who were sent written notice that their personal information was potentially accessed, viewed, and/or obtained as a result of the LINQ data security incident that occurred between September 12, 2023 and May 13, 2024. In practice, if you received a notice about this settlement — by mail or email — the company's records indicate your information was involved and you are a class member.Because EMS LINQ's software is used by K-12 school districts, the affected group includes students and their parents or guardians as well as current and former school employees whose information was stored in the affected systems. According to the notice, the files involved contained information such as names, addresses, dates of birth, bank account information, and Social Security numbers. If you are unsure whether you were included, the official settlement website can confirm your eligibility using the unique ID from your notice.
How Much Can You Get?
The settlement offers three types of benefits. The two documented-loss options and the flat cash payment are alternatives to one another — you choose the one that fits your situation:- Ordinary losses — up to $500. Reimbursement for documented out-of-pocket expenses and lost time fairly traceable to the breach, such as bank fees, the cost of credit reports or credit freezes, postage, and time spent dealing with the incident.
- Extraordinary losses — up to $2,500. Reimbursement for documented, unreimbursed monetary losses from actual identity theft or fraud that was more likely than not caused by the breach. This option requires stronger supporting documentation than the ordinary-loss tier.
- Alternative cash payment — $50. A flat cash payment for class members who do not want to gather loss documentation. No proof of loss is required beyond logging in with your notice credentials.
Class Counsel (Leigh S. Montgomery and Jarrett L. Ellzey of EKSM, LLP) will ask the court for attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses of up to $200,000, and the class representative may request a service award of up to $2,500 — both subject to court approval. If you file online, the settlement website offers digital payment by PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle; claims submitted by mail are paid by check.
How to File a Claim
You can file in two ways before the deadline:- Online. The fastest option is the official settlement website, where you log in with the unique ID and PIN from your notice and submit the claim form.
- By mail. Download the paper claim form from the settlement website, complete and sign it, and mail it to the settlement administrator so that it is postmarked by the deadline.
Deadlines and Key Dates
- Breach window: September 12, 2023 – May 13, 2024.
- Opt-out / objection deadline: May 29, 2026 — this date has already passed, so the remaining action available to class members is to file a claim.
- Final approval hearing: June 23, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time, held via Zoom. Payments are issued only after the court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved, so there is typically a wait of several weeks to months afterward.
- Claim deadline: June 29, 2026 (submitted online or postmarked).
Watch Out for Scams
Legitimate settlement administrators do not ask you to pay a fee to receive a class action payment, and they do not request your full Social Security number, banking passwords, or a "processing payment" by text or phone. File only through the official settlement website linked on this page, and ignore unsolicited messages claiming you must pay money or hand over sensitive credentials to release your check. If you want to compare this case with other active cases, see our roundup of open data breach settlements, and our writeup of the Bell Ambulance data breach settlement, another 2025-era breach with a tiered cash-or-documented-losses structure.Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for the EMS LINQ data breach settlement?
The settlement covers all individuals who were sent written notice that their personal information was potentially accessed, viewed, or obtained as a result of the LINQ data security incident that occurred between September 12, 2023 and May 13, 2024. EMS LINQ provides software to K-12 school districts, so the class includes students, parents, and school staff whose information was stored in affected systems. If you received a notice about this settlement, the company's records indicate you are a class member.
How much can I get from the EMS LINQ settlement?
Class members can choose one of three benefits: up to $500 for documented ordinary losses (such as the cost of credit reports, credit freezes, and time spent dealing with the breach), up to $2,500 for documented extraordinary losses (such as actual, unreimbursed identity theft or fraud), or a $50 alternative cash payment that requires no loss documentation. The documented-loss options and the $50 alternative payment are alternatives to each other. Separately, all class members can enroll in one year of three-bureau credit monitoring at no cost.
Is proof required to file an EMS LINQ settlement claim?
Yes. The online claim form requires the unique ID and PIN printed on the settlement notice that was mailed or emailed to you, so the notice itself functions as proof of class membership. The $50 alternative cash payment requires no loss documentation beyond that login, but the up to $500 ordinary-loss and up to $2,500 extraordinary-loss options additionally require supporting records such as receipts, statements, or other documentation. If you no longer have your unique ID and PIN, you can request them through the official settlement website.
What is the deadline to file an EMS LINQ claim?
Claim forms must be submitted online or postmarked by June 29, 2026. The deadline to exclude yourself from or object to the settlement was May 29, 2026, and the court scheduled a final approval hearing for June 23, 2026. Payments are not issued until the settlement receives final approval and any appeals are resolved.
What is EMS LINQ?
EMS LINQ, LLC (often referred to simply as LINQ) is a company that provides administrative software to K-12 school districts, including tools for school nutrition, finance, forms, and student information. Because school districts store student, family, and employee data in these systems, a breach of LINQ's environment can expose the personal information of people who never directly signed up with the company. EMS LINQ denies the allegations and any wrongdoing.
Sources
- Notice of Class Action and Proposed Settlement — Connor Law v. EMS LINQ, LLC, Case No. 1:24-cv-01533 (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division)
- Official settlement website — LINQ Data Incident.com
