Disney reaches confidential settlement in equal pay lawsuit

Working for Disney, LaRonda Rasmussen and Karen Moore became the representatives in the class-action lawsuit filed against the studio in the United States in April 2019. The corporation was sued for discrimination. The plaintiffs claimed that the company knowingly violated the Fair Employment and Housing Act and the California Equal Pay Act by paying female employees less than their male counterparts.

The legal proceedings, involving 9,000 women employed by the company as the opposing party to Disney, were scheduled for May 2025. However, on 12 November 2024, the parties announced a settlement. The amount Disney agreed to pay the affected employees was not disclosed. According to the Deadline portal, the compensation could have totalled up to 245 million pounds if they had lost in court.

In 2019, the defendant employer maintained: "Disney companies categorically deny paying any woman less than her male colleagues in similar situations and will vigorously defend against the individual claims of each plaintiff." Disney's lawyers attempted to argue that the issue pertained to individual claims, not systemic discrimination.

The California court disagreed with this view, stating in December 2023 that the lawsuit would proceed as a class-action suit. This was determined to mean that all Disney employees have grounds to accuse the employer of discrimination. In response to court documents about the class-action lawsuit, 9,000 12,000 women working for Disney declared their participation. They could demand equal pay for lost wages since 2015 and additional compensation for illegal discrimination. This turn of events prompted the corporation to settle, the details remaining confidential.