Disneyland has agreed to settle a high-profile class-action lawsuit for $233 million.

Disneyland

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Times confirmed that the Walt Disney Company approved a preliminary settlement covering back pay with interest for 50,0000 current and former Disney employees.

The class-action suit was filed in 2019 by workers who claimed that Disney wasn’t paying their employees a living wage as required by a 2018 Anaheim law — Measure L — that required “companies in Anaheim’s resort area who enjoyed “tax rebate” agreements with the city” to pay an at-the-time minimum wage of $15.00 an hour.

Disneyland

Disney initially didn’t comply with the law, citing the failure of their attempt to have the city dissolve a “45-year gate tax shield and a $267-million bed-tax break for a luxury hotel project” meant that they weren’t receiving the required “tax rebates.” Orange County Superior Court Judge William Claster is set to review the settlement on January 17th, and once approved, a notice will be sent to eligible workers indicating the amount they’ll receive in compensation.

Michi Cordell, a Cast Member who works as a Fairy Godmother’s Apprentice at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Disneyland, said of the verdict, “This money is life-changing for a lot of Disney Cast Members and will make a tremendous difference for me and my family. I have two small children, and getting potentially thousands of dollars in back wages I’m rightfully owed gives me peace of mind that I have money in case of an emergency or savings for their future. We’ve shown throughout these five years, and especially this last year in contract negotiations, that when we stand up for what we deserve, together, we can accomplish anything.”

©Disney

Randy Renick, an attorney representing the workers in the class-action suit, echoed this same sentiment in a statement, saying “What we believe is the largest wage and hour class settlement in California history will change lives for Disney families and their communities.”

For their part, Disney released their own statement on the verdict, saying “We are pleased that this matter is nearing resolution. Currently, all Cast Members make at least the Measure L requirement of $19.90 per hour, and, in fact, 95% of them make more.”

Measure L is set to increase minimum wage pay to $20.42 in Anaheim beginning on January 1st of 2025. In addition, this past summer, Disneyland reached an agreement with four unions representing 14,000 workers, raising base pay to $24 an hour.

Disneyland Entrance Lines

Disney has agreed to settle a massive class-action lawsuit for over $230 million. Stay tuned to DFB for further coverage of Disney’s business activities.