Just over six months before The Walt Disney Company is scheduled to go to trial in a potential $300 million class action lawsuit, the two sides have reached an agreement.
As is always the case in these matters, details are confidential with a request for preliminary approval expected to be filed by plaintiff’s attorneys before Nov. 18. If all goes as planned, the settlement will be processed and approved at a hearing on October 1, 2025 in Los Angeles Superior. Court before Judge Elihu M. Burleigh.
OfficeMate Now, the May 5, 2025 trial has been placed on the court’s June calendar.
The lawsuit, filed by Disney employees Laronda Rasmussen and Karen Moore in April 2019, alleged that the company then and now run by Bob Iger willfully violated the Fair Employment and Housing Act and California’s Equal Pay Act by paying female employees less than male employees.
Neither Disney representatives nor plaintiffs’ lead attorney Laurie Andrus responded to a deadline request for comment on the tentative settlement, which was first disclosed at a DTLA hearing on Oct. 1. However, while the payout for the class of more than 9,000 women across the Empire House mouse empire did not reach about $300 million, the final amount is in the upper eight figures at the very least, I’ve heard.
This is a far cry from Disney’s insistence in October 2029 that “Disney Companies categorically denies that it pays any female employee less than her similarly situated male colleagues, and will vigorously defend itself against each plaintiff’s individual claims.”
“But that’s what this case is all about – a variety of individual claims, based on highly individualized allegations,” Disney’s outside attorneys at Paul Hasting LLP added in words that may seem a bit harsh now, all things considered.
The case was certified as a class action in December 2023, and was expected to involve 12,000 Disney employees. While the parties were fighting over discovery requests and documents, a formal notice was issued on April 25 of this year and sent to potential plaintiffs via snail mail and email.
The case has been estimated at up to $150 million in lost wages from 2015 to today. The class certification doubled that estimate.
With the initial settlement, it was first reported by goblinIt’s worth noting that the class action and any compensation does not include women working at Hulu, ESPN, Pixar, and former Fox assets like FX or National Geographic.
With its shares up 11% so far this year, Disney released its fourth-quarter earnings on Nov. 14. After releasing its 2025 list of Thunderbolts, Captain America: Brave New World and more in the past week, Iger will certainly have a lot to talk about. This now-ironed suit will almost certainly not be something the former and current CEO wants to get into, at least not until the deal is 100% finalized.
At least Iger can take special credit for getting this issue off the table before Disney’s new CEO takes office at the end of 2026, whoever that may be.