Walt Disney pays out $43m to settle pay discrimination suit
Female employee sued in 2019 after learning six men with the same job title earned substantially more than she did
26 November 2024 - 21:16
byNilutpal Timsina and Gnaneshwar Rajan
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Bengaluru — Walt Disney has agreed to pay $43.3m to settle a lawsuit alleging that its female employees in California earned $150m less than their male counterparts over an eight-year period, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said in a statement on Monday.
As part of the settlement, Disney has agreed to retain a labour economist for three years to analyse pay equity among full-time, non-union California employees below the vice-president level, and address differences, the three law firms representing the plaintiffs said.
The suit was originally filed by LaRonda Rasmussen in 2019, after she learnt that six men with the same job title earned substantially more than her, including one man with several years less experience, who was earning $20,000 a year more than she did.
About 9,000 current and former female employees of the entertainment company eventually joined the suit. Disney attempted to stop the class action, but a judge ruled last December that it could proceed, Andrus Anderson, one of the law firms, said at the time.
“I strongly commend Ms Rasmussen and the women who brought this discrimination suit against Disney, one of the largest entertainment companies in the world. They risked their careers to raise pay disparity at Disney,” said Lori Andrus, a partner at Andrus Anderson, in Monday's statement.
“We have always been committed to paying our employees fairly and have demonstrated that commitment throughout this case, and we are pleased to have resolved this matter,” a Disney spokesperson said.
The case was also supported by an analysis of Disney’s human resource data from April 2015 until December 2022 which found female Disney employees were paid roughly 2% less than their male counterparts.
The analysis was conducted by David Neumark, a University of California Irvine professor and labour economist.
The settlement agreement, which was filed in a California state court, still requires approval by a judge, according to the lawyers.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Walt Disney pays out $43m to settle pay discrimination suit
Female employee sued in 2019 after learning six men with the same job title earned substantially more than she did
Bengaluru — Walt Disney has agreed to pay $43.3m to settle a lawsuit alleging that its female employees in California earned $150m less than their male counterparts over an eight-year period, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said in a statement on Monday.
As part of the settlement, Disney has agreed to retain a labour economist for three years to analyse pay equity among full-time, non-union California employees below the vice-president level, and address differences, the three law firms representing the plaintiffs said.
The suit was originally filed by LaRonda Rasmussen in 2019, after she learnt that six men with the same job title earned substantially more than her, including one man with several years less experience, who was earning $20,000 a year more than she did.
About 9,000 current and former female employees of the entertainment company eventually joined the suit. Disney attempted to stop the class action, but a judge ruled last December that it could proceed, Andrus Anderson, one of the law firms, said at the time.
“I strongly commend Ms Rasmussen and the women who brought this discrimination suit against Disney, one of the largest entertainment companies in the world. They risked their careers to raise pay disparity at Disney,” said Lori Andrus, a partner at Andrus Anderson, in Monday's statement.
“We have always been committed to paying our employees fairly and have demonstrated that commitment throughout this case, and we are pleased to have resolved this matter,” a Disney spokesperson said.
The case was also supported by an analysis of Disney’s human resource data from April 2015 until December 2022 which found female Disney employees were paid roughly 2% less than their male counterparts.
The analysis was conducted by David Neumark, a University of California Irvine professor and labour economist.
The settlement agreement, which was filed in a California state court, still requires approval by a judge, according to the lawyers.
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