Disney agrees to pay $233M to settle wage theft class action lawsuit

Disneyland has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit for $233 million. The suit alleged that park employees, known as cast members, didn’t benefit from an Anaheim minimum wage law.

As first reported by the L.A. Times, Walt Disney Co. approved the preliminary settlement Friday. The settlement covers over 50,000 current and former Disney employees and accounts for back pay with interest.

Orange County Superior Court Judge William Claster is set to review the settlement on Jan. 17. Once approved, a notice will be sent to workers outlining how much money they will receive.

For Michi Cordell, a Fairy Godmother’s Apprentice at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Disneyland, the money is "life-changing."

“This money is life-changing for a lot of Disney cast members and will make a tremendous difference for me and my family,” Cordell said in a statement. “I have two small children, and getting potentially thousands of dollars in back wages I’m rightfully owed gives me peace of mind that I have money in case of an emergency or savings for their future. We’ve shown throughout these five years, and especially this last year in contract negotiations, that when we stand up for what we deserve, together, we can accomplish anything.”

In 2018, Anaheim voters passed a law requiring a $15 minimum wage for companies in Anaheim’s resort area who enjoyed “tax rebate” agreements with the city. The measure, known as Measure L, was placed on a ballot thanks to a petition led by a coalition of Disney unions.

Ahead of the election, Disney asked the city to dissolve a “45-year gate tax shield and a $267-million bed-tax break for a luxury hotel project” that never came to fruition, the Times reported.

Anaheim’s city attorney initially said the law wouldn’t apply to Disney since the agreements were canceled.

However, a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of cast members in 2019 begged to differ. The lawsuit claimed the company violated the law by failing to pay its workers a living wage.

“What we believe is the largest wage and hour class settlement in California history will change lives for Disney families and their communities,” Randy Renick, an attorney representing the workers in the class-action suit, told the Times.

“We are pleased that this matter is nearing resolution. Currently, all cast members make at least the Measure L requirement of $19.90 per hour, and, in fact, 95% of them make more," Suzi Brown, a Disneyland spokesperson, said in a statement to KTLA 5.

Last summer, Disneyland reached an agreement with four unions representing 14,000 workers, raising base pay to $24 an hour.

Measure L is set to increase minimum wage pay to $20.42 on Jan 1, 2025 in Anaheim.