Years after a class-action lawsuit alleging gender pay discrimination was initiated in California, Disney has agreed to a US$43-million settlement, according to an LA Superior Court filing that was submitted on Monday, November 25. 

The complaint goes back to 2019, when Disney staffers LaRonda Rasmussen and Karen Moore filed a suit against the media giant over an alleged pay gap between them and men employed in similar roles. Around 9,000 women—both current and former Disney employees—eventually joined the suit, which argued that the disparity was a violation of California’s Equal Pay Act and the Fair Employment & Housing Act.

When they were seeking class-action certification last year, the plaintiffs also cited findings by David Neumark, a labor economist and professor at the University of California (Irvine), to support their claims. Neumark’s report analyzed Disney’s human resource data from April 2015 to December 2022, and found that female employees were paid around 2% less than their male counterparts.

Disney argued against the case proceeding as a class action, but this appeal was ultimately denied last December when judge Elihu M. Berle certified its status. The case was set to go to trial in May 2025. 

In addition to the US$43 million in compensation, Disney has committed to retaining an external industrial consultant to evaluate jobs based on external market data, as well as a labor economist to conduct a three-year pay equity analysis of full-time, non-union Californian employees working in positions below the VP level.

The settlement is expected to be approved at a January hearing, as per Deadline.

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