Disney has agreed to pay $43.25 million to settle a gender pay equity class-action lawsuit that has shadowed the company for five years. According to Deadline report, the settlement will benefit up to 14,000 eligible female employees who worked for Disney from 2015 to the present and is set to be filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court later tonight.
This amount is significantly lower than the estimated $300 million the case could have reached after being certified as a class action in December 2022. News of a tentative settlement surfaced earlier this October, marking a quiet resolution to a lawsuit initially filed in April 2019.
The lawsuit, brought by former employees LaRonda Rasmussen and Karen Moore, accused Disney of violating California’s Equal Pay Act and the Fair Employment & Housing Act by paying men more than women for the same roles. Initially seeking $150 million in damages for back pay, lost benefits, and other compensation, the case faced strong opposition from Disney, which argued the claims were “highly individualized allegations.”
Despite repeated attempts by Disney’s legal team to have the lawsuit dismissed or narrowed, the class action gained traction, with thousands of female employees included in the final group eligible for settlement.
The $43.25 million payout will require final approval at a hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025, before Judge Elihu M. Berle. While the settlement marks a resolution to the legal battle, it does not include women employed at Disney-owned entities such as Hulu, ESPN, Pixar, or former Fox properties like FX and National Geographic.
Disney has also committed to annual pay equity reviews and will engage external consultants and economists to address compensation disparities over the next three years.
“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 told Deadline.
The January hearing is expected to mark the conclusion of this case, subject to potential objections. For now, Disney’s commitment to addressing pay equity issues reflects a broader trend in corporate accountability regarding gender discrimination.
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