Disney will pay $43.25 million to settle a class action from roughly 9,000 female employees in California accusing the company of pay discrimination.
Under the deal, Disney will retain experts to address “significant pay differences” using a model commissioned by lawyers representing the women, they said in a statement.
The lawsuit, filed in 2019, centered on claims from female workers employed by Disney since 2015, who said they’re being paid less than their male counterparts for substantially similar work. It was brought by LaRonda Rasmussen, a longtime product development manager at Walt Disney Studios, and Karen Moore, who has spent over two decades as a senior copyright administrator for Disney’s Hollywood Records. At the time, Disney denied allegations of pay bias across numerous corporate divisions in the class action seeking up to $300 million.
The settlement was reached in September, though terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Plaintiffs’ lawyers on Monday moved for approval of the deal. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu M. Berle is tentatively scheduled to consider the agreement at a Jan. 10 hearing.
In a statement, Lori Andrus, the lead attorney representing the women, stressed that Disney “committed to run annual pay equity reviews to further promote pay equity.” She added, “I believe this will help strengthen the company and its brand as a key employer and contributor to California’s economy.”
The long-running case cleared a major hurdle last year when a judge certified a diverse class of employees who work across the company’s movie production arm, record labels, theme parks and home distribution subsidiaries, among various other units including broadcast and research and development. It’s believed to be one of the largest classes ever suing under an equal pay act claim. The group comprised women employed by Disney between April 2015 and three months before trial, which was scheduled to start in May, below the level of vice president.
“This settlement would not be possible without these courageous women. Because of them, women can expect equitable treatment at Disney in the future,” said Christine Webber, a lawyer for the women. “I am hopeful the court will move swiftly to approve the settlement, so these hard-working women can move forward with confidence that best practices will be used and unencumbered by further litigation.”
English (US) ·