On Tuesday a 2019 self-evaluation written by Disney CEO Bob Iger was unsealed as part of a trove of documents that make up the class action suit that claims the company discriminates against its female employees. Iger celebrated several feats for the year, including the blockbuster release of “Avengers: Endgame,” a stock price increase from $116.94 to $148.72, and the acquisition of 21st Century Fox.
Iger also noted that the company’s banner year included gaining “operating control” of Hulu, the growth of ESPN+, the development of more original content for its streaming platform Disney+, and pulling off “a highly-anticipated Investor Day.”
Additionally, the CEO lauded the launch of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and that 50% of eligible employees “signed up for our Aspire program.” Disney Aspire is a tuition program that assists qualified hourly employees with the cost of their college education, including tuition, fees, and books.
Iger was compensated $47.5 million for his leadership of Disney in 2019.
Former Disney staffers LaRonda Rasmussen and Karen Moore sued the company in 2019. The pair were part of a group of ten female employees who represented Hollywood Records, Disney Imagineering, Walt Disney Studios and Disney ABC Television. Both Rasmussen and Moore worked for Disney for over a decade.
Plaintiffs have stated that Disney violated the Fair Employment & Housing Act and California’s Equal Pay Act. They seek at least $150 million in lost wages, though that number could double, which would make this the largest class action lawsuit in California’s history.
Disney attempted to have the suit thrown out of court. The plaintiffs in the case insisted that Disney’s contention that pay disparities between its male and female employees could be the result of seniority, education, or some other bona fide factor other than sex … is pure conjecture and not a proper basis for demurrer.”
“The policy behind California’s Equal Pay Act is clear: the centuries-old practice of underpaying women is harming women and is also harming the State’s economic health. … The allegations included in Plaintiffs’ Complaint clearly set forth all the elements required under the Equal Pay Act,” the suit added.
On Dec. 8, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu M. Berle ruled the case could become a class-action lawsuit. The change opened Disney up to thousands of potential lawsuits from past and current female employees who believe they have been paid less than their male counterparts.
Lori Andrus, who represents the women in the case, said, “Disney is 100 years old this week. It is time [for Disney] to grow up and take responsibility for their actions.”
Read then full memo below:
“In fiscal 2019, we prepared for the historical launch of Disney+. We successfully executed a highly-anticipated Investor Day providing an extensive overview of all our direct-to-consumer offerings, launched an unprecedented company-wide marketing effort and tested the BAMTech platform in the Netherlands to positive reviews. Our stock price has increased from $116.94 at the start of the fiscal year to $148.72 as of Nov. 13, 2019.”
“We completed the acquisition of 21st Century Foxx by obtaining regulatory approvals from numerous countries and made significant progress in integrating its assets and people, while beginning to implement meaningful cost synergies.”
“In addition, we acquired operating control of Hulu from Comcast and At&T, which will provide a critical DTC platform domestically and internationally, and continued the impressive growth of ESPN+ with an additional 2.3M subscribers over fiscal 2019 (over 3.5M paid subs today).”
“The creative engines across our company focused on developing compelling original content for Disney+ (74 premium movies and 97 TV series under production/development) and Hulu (announced our ‘FX on Hulu’ strategy). This is in addition to the successful content created for traditional theatrical and linear network release.”
“Studio generated over $10B in global box office. Our slate of movies led the domestic market for the fourth year in a row – ‘Avengers: Endgame’ was the biggest film in history, ‘The Lion King’ generated $1.6 billion and ‘Toy Story 4’ was the 4th biggest global box office for an animated title.”
“Parks and Resorts launched the highly-immersive ‘Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge’ at both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World. Internationally, we broke ground on a Zootopia-themed land at Shanghai Disneyland, began construction on the Avengers Campus at Disneyland Paris, opened the Ant-Man and The Wasp attraction at Hong Kong Disneyland, and launched Soarin’ at Tokyo Disney Resort.”
“Almost 50% of eligible employees signed up for our Aspire program, with 11,000 employees actively enrolled in classes. Also, as part of our Disney Team of Heroes commitment, we installed transformative experiences in our first pilot children’s hospital in Houston and solidified partnerships with 14 other hospitals in 12 cities across the US,” he concluded.