Rasmussen, et al. v. The Walt Disney Company, et al.




  • A class action lawsuit is pending in the Superior Court of The State of California, County of Los Angeles (“the Court”) against The Walt Disney Company and various Disney-related companies (referred to in this notice for ease of reference as “Disney”). The lawsuit alleges that Disney violated California’s Equal Pay Act, Labor Code and Unfair Competition Law by paying women employees in California in certain positions less than men for substantially similar work, which Plaintiffs allege also resulted in a failure to pay all wages due to women in this group who separated from employment. Disney expressly denies that women were or are paid less than men performing substantially similar work, denies that any wages are due to former employees, and denies any other allegations of wrongdoing brought in this case.
  • On December 8, 2023, the Court decided that this lawsuit should proceed as a class action on behalf of a “Class” (a group of people with similar claims). The Class Definition is as follows: Women who have been or will be employed by a Disney-related company in California, between April 1, 2015 and three months before trial, below the level of Vice President, and in a full-time, salaried, non-union position with a Job Level of B1-B4, T1-T4, TL, P1-P6, P2L-P5L, M1-M3, A1-5, E0, E1, or E1X assigned to a job family that is not “other.” This class excludes: (a) individuals working in Hulu, ESPN, Pixar, 21st Century (Fox), FX, National Geographic, Bamtech, and ILM; (b) employees in the HR_Compensation job family; (c) in-house employment counsel; (d) any paralegals and legal assistants involved in assisting with respect to this case; and (e) any judge to whom the case is assigned and immediate family members of such judge. There is also a Labor Code Section 203 Subclass, which includes only those Class Members who separated from employment. The Court did not certify claims brought under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.
  • Neither this Notice nor the Court’s December 8, 2023 class certification order is an endorsement or an expression of any kind by the Court as to the merits of any of the claims or defenses asserted by either side in this litigation. Disney denies the claims and material allegations in the lawsuit. The sole purpose of this Notice is to inform you of the lawsuit and your right to remain in the Class or opt out of it, so that you can make an informed decision.
  • If you received a copy of this notice addressed or emailed to you, that is because data from Disney’s HR systems indicate that you meet the Class Definition for at least some part of the time since April 1, 2015.
SUMMARY OF YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS
Do Nothing, Remain in the Class
By doing nothing, you are choosing to stay in the Class. You will be bound by any outcome in this case, whether favorable or unfavorable to the Class. You may also be permitted to share in any recovery that might result from this litigation, but you will give up your rights to sue Disney in a separate lawsuit for the claims made in this litigation. The Court has not yet made any decision about the merits of the case. There is thus no money available now to Class Members and no guarantee that there will ever be money available to Class Members. The outcome of this litigation is not yet known.
Exclude Yourself from the Class
If you do not wish to remain in the Class for any reason you may exclude yourself from this lawsuit by opting out of the Class, following the instructions set forth in Section 10 below. If you opt out of the Class, you will: (1) not be bound by any determination or judgment entered in this litigation; (2) not be entitled to any recovery that might result from this litigation; and (3) retain the right to file your own action related to the certified claims in this case if you so choose (with your own lawyer).


The deadline to submit an opt-out request expired on June 24, 2024.



To see the full Notice of Class Certification, please click here.