December 8, 2023

On December 8, 2023, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle agreed to certify a class of around 9,000 female employees under California’s Equal Pay Act.  GBDH and co-counsel Andrus Anderson LLP and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC represent women employed by The Walt Disney Company or an affiliated entity between April 1, 2015 and three months before trial in non-union positions below the level of vice president.

Plaintiffs allege that The Walt Disney Company paid women less than men for substantially similar jobs in violation of California’s Equal Pay Act.  Judge Berle, ruling from the bench, found, “Plaintiffs have set forth evidence which establishes that Defendants’ alleged conduct was uniformly applicable to class members and those common issue would predominate over the individual inquiries with respect to the EPA claims and related subclass.”

In an earlier ruling denying Disney’s motion to exclude Plaintiffs’ expert in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Judge Berle responded to Defendants’ arguments that Disney’s company-wide job classification system cannot be used to compare jobs under the Equal Pay Act, stating “Defendants are essentially arguing that although an extensive and comprehensive global implementation of job leveling was undertaken and is continually revised and updated, nevertheless, it failed to accomplish what it sets out to do.”

If you have questions about whether you are a member of the Equal Pay Act class or have information related to the case, please contact us here.

November 15, 2022

GBDH joins class action alleging The Walt Disney Company and affiliated entities discriminated against women employees by paying them less than their male counterparts.  The complaint was filed on April 2, 2019.  The class is seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.