Andrus Anderson broadened a gender pay gap lawsuit today against The Walt Disney Company, adding four new women employees to the class action. The lawsuit alleges that Disney routinely pays its women employees less than men, across its range of companies and divisions. The lawsuit also takes aim at Disney’s practice of passing over women for promotion, and for expecting women workers to be satisfied with lower titles and pay levels than their job responsibilities warrant. All of the women allege that they are being discriminated against by Disney based on their gender.
One of the new plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Virginia “Ginia” Eady-Marshall, has worked for Disney for a total of 15 years. Disney’s higher-ups recognize that Ms. Eady-Marshall “has one of the most difficult and important jobs in our business” and that she is “a precious resource.” Though Ms. Eady-Marshall is recognized as a “subject matter expert” whose job responsibilities are “consistent with” that of a Director, Disney has refused to give her the promotion and raise that she deserves.
“I love the Disney brand, and I love my job,” said Ms. Eady-Marshall. “But when Disney refuses to reward the hard work of its female employees, and when Disney allows unconscious bias to hold us back, I cannot stand by and do nothing.”
The other three new plaintiffs are: Amy Hutchins, who is employed by Disney Direct-To-Consumer and International, Enny Joo, who heads up all creative campaigns in Hollywood Records, Inc.’s Marketing Department, and Becky Train, a Media Producer for Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc. Although each of these women has received glowing performance reviews over the years, their careers at Disney have been stymied by gender discrimination. While they have been hard at work, their male counterparts have been offered more pay, have gotten larger bonuses, and have been promoted more frequently.
“As we learn more and more about Disney’s compensation practices, it becomes clearer and clearer that Disney takes its women workers for granted,” said pay gap attorney Lori Andrus. “Each of these women has shown dedication to Disney and a willingness to work hard. All they want is to be treated fairly, and to see other women working for Disney treated fairly, too.”
The lawsuit, Rasmussen v. The Walt Disney Company, et al., Case No. 19STCV10974 (Los Angeles County Superior Court), is brought as a proposed class action on behalf of all women employed by Disney in California. The suit alleges that Disney, the largest media company in the world, engages in systematic gender discrimination against its female employees through unequal pay in violation of California’s Equal Pay Act, Labor Code section 1197.5.
Attorneys Lori Andrus and Jennie Lee Anderson of Andrus Anderson LLP represent the plaintiffs and the proposed class. Andrus Anderson has a long history of advocating to close the gender pay gap for women.