US judge permits Disney to be sued by 9k women employees for pay discrimination

San Francisco: A US judge has granted permission for 9,000 women to file a class-action lawsuit alleging disparity in wages against the giant entertainment company Disney.

Female Disney workers who have been employed in California since 2015 in non-union roles beneath vice president are involved in the complaint, according to Variety.

The women employees worked at Disneyland hotels and theme parks, the cruise line, the Disney film and TV studios, ABC, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and other units.

“Disney has been gaslighting these women for four years. They love their jobs. They love the brand. But they want to be respected and treated the way they should be in the workplace,” Lori Andrus, the plaintiffs’ attorney, was quoted as saying.

The lawsuit is the largest-ever certified under California’s Equal Pay Act. Judge Elihu M Berle rejected Disney’s arguments that the case was so sprawling as to be unmanageable.

Disney said it is disappointed with the court’s ruling as to the Equal Pay Act claims and “are considering our options”. Both sides have retained experts to prove, or disprove, a gender pay gap.

Andrus said that starting pay across the class is 2 per cent lower for women than for men, the report said. The trial is expected to be held sometime before October next year.

With PTI inputs