Women suing as part of a class action lawsuit against Disney have recently discovered the company has been violating a California law prohibiting workers from discussing wages, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
What’s Happening:
- A class action lawsuit that is nearly three years old, alleges Disney pays women less than men for similar work. Reportedly, the women suing have discovered that Disney has been violating a California law that prohibits employees from discussing wages.
- The plaintiffs now want to amend their lawsuit to include a new claim regarding pay secrecy. Filed within the last week, based on "recently uncovered evidence that Disney has been violating California Labor Code section 232" with a uniform policy over pay secrecy.
- In 2019, a judge rejected Disney’s original claim that the circumstances of each claim of inferior pay aren’t similar enough to allow for the women to sue as a group.
- As of right now, Disney is planning on reprising these arguments, and both the company and the women are engaged in discovery, with the women hoping to acquire an analysis of pay data done by an outside consultant, and planned depositions will begin soon.
- Reportedly, the attorneys representing Disney are still considering whether or not they wish to contend the “belated effort” of amending the complaint. The use of italics by Disney’s attorneys in a statement however, may give a hint as to their strategy regarding the amendment. According to Felicia Davis, an attorney representing Disney, the document that evidently lays out Disney's pay secrecy policy "does not prohibit discussion of compensation among peers as a condition of employment and by no means establishes a cause of action under Labor Code Section 232."
- A spokesperson for Disney added, "Disney does not prohibit its employees from talking about their pay and looks forward to proving the falsity of this latest plaintiff claim.”
What They’re Saying:
- Attorney Lori Andrus: "Policies regarding pay secrecy have been shown to negatively impact women workers' pay because they systematically deprive female employees of the information they need to demand equal pay. The opposite is also true: pay transparency closes the gender wage gap completely… Given the significant role that pay secrecy plays in suppressing women's pay, it is appropriate for violations of Section 232 to be tried concomitantly with Plaintiffs' other causes of action."