A California Judge Certifies Class Action Lawsuit Against Disney Over Gender Pay Gap
A California judge has certified a class action lawsuit alleging that The Walt Disney Company paid 9,000 women less than their male counterparts.
The suit is the largest ever certified under California’s Equal Pay Act, which makes it illegal for workers to be paid less for doing similar work because of their gender.
Credit: Disney
Following the ruling, Lori Andurs, the plaintiff’s attorney, applauded the judge’s decision.
“Disney has been gaslighting these women for four years,” she said. “They love their jobs. They love the brand. But they want to be respected and treated the way they should be in the workplace.”
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
In his ruling, Judge Elihu M. Berle rejected Disney’s argument that the case would be so large as to be unmanageable.
Disney’s Argument
Disney’s attorney, Felicia Davis, also argued that the plaintiffs seek to compare salaries across thousands of job groups. The discrepancies, she argues, reflect the decentralized decisions of thousands of managers.
The Walt Disney Company
Davis argued that just because two employees are on the same job level, does not mean that their work is “substantially similar”.
“These are different segments, different business areas, in different locations,” she said. “They report to different managers. They are in completely different industries which pay completely differently.”
The Walt Disney Company
Additionally, Davis argued that Disney would have to put on a massive and complex defense to show that any disparities resulted from allowable factors.
I know — it’s going to be horrendous,” Berle said sarcastically. “You’re telling me Disney has no system of categorizing pay grade levels?”
Disney Is Considering Its Options
Following today’s ruling, Davis refused to comment outside of the courtroom. Instead, she referred questions to Disney.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“We are disappointed with the court’s ruling as to the Equal Pay Act claims and are considering our options,” a company spokesperson said.
