A pair of employment settlements by one of the most iconic employers in California demonstrates the difference workers can make when they stand up for their rights.
Disney recently agreed to a $43 million settlement related to gender pay disparities, as well as a $233 million wage theft settlement.
Both settlements stem from lawsuits originally filed in 2019. The details of the cases can be instructive for employees who feel that their rights are being violated but are unsure about what they can do about it.
Gender Pay Suit
The gender pay settlement stems from a common business practice that California has worked to stop: Use of prior compensation information to determine pay for a new employee. That practice tends to perpetuate gender-based pay disparities.
According to Forbes, LaRonda Rasmussen filed the original lawsuit, alleging that six men with the same job title received significantly more pay — including one with less experience. She later was joined by about 9,000 other women who worked or had worked for Disney.
The settlement didn’t require Disney to admit a gender discrepancy, but it did require the company to hire an outside labor economist to analyze pay equity during the next three years, as well as someone to train compensation personnel, Forbes reported.
California has sought to promote pay equity with its Equal Pay Act, which has been enhanced multiple times. The prohibition against asking about prior salaries took effect Jan. 1, 2018.
If you suspect that your employer is paying women less, contact Keller Grover for a free, confidential consultation. We advise employees about prudent next steps, and in our 30 years litigating fraud and employment cases, we have recovered billions of dollars for clients.
Wage Theft Suit
The $233 million agreement appears to be the largest wage theft settlement in state history, Voice of OC reported.
A law that Anaheim voters approved in 2018 required all businesses that had received a city subsidy to pay workers at least $15 an hour in 2019, increasing $1/hour each year through 2022, with a cost of living raise every year thereafter. Tips or other extra pay cannot offset the wage rates, according to the law.
The settlement means underpaid employees will get all of the money they were owed, plus interest and penalties.
The state has been increasing minimum wage, bumping it up to $16.50 this year, though it’s higher in certain situations (here are details based on location and industry). As in the Anaheim situation, some localities have higher minimum wages.
Contact Keller Grover for a free, confidential consultation if you think you are being underpaid. We can advise you about your situation and what to do; in our 30 years litigating fraud and employment cases, we have recovered billions of dollars for clients.