USA 
United Kingdom
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to a record-breaking $233million settlement to resolve a wage theft lawsuit brought by tens of thousands of Disneyland Resort employees in Anaheim.
The deal marks the end of a five-year legal battle over alleged violations of a living wage law.
The settlement, believed to be the largest of its kind in California history, will allocate $179.6million for back pay and retirement contributions to workers. Additionally, $17.5million will be paid in penalties to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, with $35million earmarked for attorney fees and other administrative costs.
The lawsuit, filed in 2019, centered on Measure L, a 2018 ordinance requiring companies in Anaheim’s resort district receiving city tax subsidies to pay employees at least $15 per hour starting in 2019, with annual $1 increases through 2022. Disney had argued that it was exempt from the law, a claim initially upheld by a judge in 2021. An appellate court reversed that ruling in July 2023, however, finding that Disney did benefit from a city subsidy under the ordinance.
The settlement now awaits final approval from Orange County Superior Court Judge William D. Claster, who is expected to issue a decision in February 2024. If no further appeals are filed, workers could receive payments by mid-2025.
Wage increases and future commitments
As part of the agreement, Disney has committed to raising its minimum wage for affected employees to $20.50 per hour beginning January 2024. The company says that most Disneyland Resort workers already earn above the Measure L rate, with 95% of cast members making at least $19.90 per hour.
“We are pleased that this matter is nearing resolution,” said Suzi Brown, Disneyland Resort’s vice president of communications. She pointed out Disney’s ongoing efforts to raise wages, highlighting a separate agreement reached in July 2024 with unions representing over 13,000 cast members to increase the minimum hourly rate to $24 - well above the ordinance’s requirements.
Litigation origins
The case, backed by unions such as United Food and Commercial Workers, Teamsters, and Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers, hinged on Anaheim’s financial arrangements with Disney. Workers argued that the city’s $546million investment in infrastructure, including the Mickey & Friends parking garage, constituted a subsidy under Measure L.
Although Anaheim officials claimed that Disney’s cancellation of hotel tax incentive deals exempted the company from the living wage ordinance, the appellate court disagreed. In its ruling, the panel concluded that the parking garage arrangement qualified as a subsidy, obligating Disney to comply with the wage requirements.
“This decision ensures that Disney workers receive the wages they are entitled to under the law,” the court stated.
The settlement represents a significant victory for workers and underscores growing scrutiny of wage practices in California’s largest employers. Disney’s adherence to higher pay standards is expected to have ripple effects across the theme park industry.
