Variety: Disney to Pay $43 Million to Settle Class Action Over Gender Pay Gap

Story from Variety:

Disney has agreed to pay $43.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused the company of systematically paying women less than male employees with the same experience.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys filed a motion on Monday to seek approval of the settlement, which would cover a broad range of salaried Disney employees in California.

If the petition is granted, thousands of women who have worked for Disney since April 1, 2015, will receive checks to compensate for the wage disparity.

The suit was filed in 2019, alleging that Disney policies — including basing a new hire’s salary on their pay at their previous employer — resulted in discrimination against women. A study commissioned by the plaintiffs found that one category of women was paid 2% less than their male counterparts, while a separate category was paid 58% less.

Disney continues to dispute the validity of the study, but has agreed to use it as a basis on which to apportion the settlement funds. Under the agreement, the plaintiffs’ attorneys can seek judicial approval for up to one third of the settlement amount, or about $14.4 million, to cover legal fees, plus $1.8 million in litigation expenses.

Nine women were named in the lawsuit as representatives of the Disney employees. LaRonda Rasmussen, a financial analyst at the company, discovered in 2017 that six men with her title were all making significantly more than she was, according to the lawsuit. After she complained, she received a $25,000 raise, but was still paid less than her average male counterpart, according to the suit.

“I strongly commend Ms. Rasmussen and the women who brought this discrimination suit against Disney, one of the largest entertainment companies in the world,” plaintiffs’ attorney Lori Andrus, a founding partner of Andrus Anderson, said in a statement. “They risked their careers to raise pay disparity at Disney.”

In December 2023, Judge Elihu Berle granted class status to 9,000 women in the case who were suing under the California Equal Pay Act, which was considerably strengthened in 2016 under Gov. Jerry Brown.

The women in the class were non-union, salaried employees who worked at Disney’s theme parks, cruise ships, and film and TV studios, including ABC, Marvel and Lucasfilm. Employees at ESPN, Pixar, Hulu, Fox and FX were not included.

Disney’s lawyers fought the allegations, arguing that it was impossible to accurately compare skill and experience levels across a wide range of disparate jobs.

In a statement, Disney defended its pay practices and said it was pleased to have brought the case to a conclusion.

“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 company spokesperson said.

Under the agreement, Disney will hire an outside industrial consultant to train employees on benchmarking pay levels. A labor economist will also continue to work for the company over the next three years to conduct pay studies.

Andrus said she was encouraged by that provision.

“I believe this will help strengthen the company and its brand as a key employer and contributor to California’s economy,” she said.

The two sides worked with mediator Hunter R. Hughes III, over a couple of months this summer and fall before reaching a settlement in principle.

Women who are part of the settlement class will receive communications asking if they wish to opt out of the agreement or object to the settlement. If they do nothing, they will get a check.