Disney agrees to pay $43 million to settle lawsuit alleging it paid men more than women

Disney has agreed to pay $43 million to settle a lawsuit that it paid female employees less than their male counterparts in similar roles for nearly a decade.

Disney has agreed to pay $43 million to settle a lawsuit that it paid female employees less than their male counterparts in similar roles for nearly a decade. The settlement agreement, reached Monday, stems from a 2019 lawsuit filed by LaRonda Rasmussen. She claims she learned that six men with the same job title earned substantially more than her, including one man with several years less experience, who was earning $20,000 a year more than she did. About 9,000 women, who were both former and current employees, joined the lawsuit. Disney disputed the allegations and didn’t admit fault. “We have always been committed to paying our employees fairly and have demonstrated that commitment throughout this case, and we are pleased to have resolved this matter,” a spokesperson told CNN. As part of the settlement, Disney has to hire a labor economist to analyze pay equity among full-time, non-union California employees below the vice president level for three years, and fix the differences, the three law firms representing the plaintiffs said.