Workers sue Disney claiming they were fraudulently induced to move to Florida from California
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Yueke
Thu, Jun 27, 2024
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Workers Sue Disney Claiming They Were Fraudulently Induced to Move to Florida from California
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney workers are suing their employer, claiming they were fraudulently induced to relocate to work in a new office campus only to have those plans later scrapped amid a fight between the entertainment giant and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In July 2021, the Disney Parks’ chief informed workers in California that most white-collar employees would be transferred to the new campus in Orlando to consolidate different teams and allow for greater collaboration.
Employees in digital technology, finance, and product development departments would be transferred to the campus located about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the giant Walt Disney World theme park resort, the company said at the time.
Many workers were reluctant to make the move given their longstanding ties to Southern California and fears of uprooting their families, but Disney encouraged the move by promising a state-of-the-art, centralized workplace and greater affordability in central Florida, according to the class action lawsuit filed earlier this week.
“In sum, employees were incentivized to move through a combination of reward and punishment,” the lawsuit said. “An employee could choose to move to a better life in Florida, or alternatively, choose not to move and be terminated by Disney.”
By late 2021, as large numbers of Disney employees resisted relocating, Disney told them to put their moving plans on hold. Meanwhile, a group of workers who had decided to relocate, including the lead plaintiffs, Maria De La Cruz and George Fong, sold their California homes with the understanding that the company expected them to make the move, and they purchased homes in central Florida, the lawsuit said.
Fong, who works as a creative director of product design, sold his childhood home which he had inherited.
By June 2022, though, Disney leaders told the California workers that the opening of the new Orlando campus was being delayed and that they could postpone moving until 2026 but were still encouraged to relocate by 2024.
By this time, DeSantis had clashed with the company over its public opposition to a Florida law which restricts discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. With the help of Republicans in the Florida Legislature, DeSantis revamped the governing district for Walt Disney World and took control in early 2023. Before the DeSantis takeover, the governing district had been controlled by supporters of Disney for more than five decades.
By May 2023, Disney told its workers that the plans to open the $1 billion campus in Orlando were being scrapped and that the workers who had moved to Florida could move back to California if they chose.
According to the lawsuit, many of the workers who had moved to Florida were worried about their job security if they didn’t relocate back to California since most of their team members were still there and the company lacked the facilities in Florida to accommodate the teams.
After the decision to pull the plug on the Orlando campus, housing prices surrounding the campus dropped and the price of housing in California continued to increase, just as mortgage interest rates also rose higher in 2023. Fong and De La Cruz, a vice president of product design, have moved back or plan to move back to California and are seeking undisclosed economic and punitive damages.
“Other similarly situated individuals have been forced to purchase or rent less desirable housing upon their return to California,” the lawsuit said.
Disney didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on Friday.
Earlier this month, Disney and the DeSantis appointees to Disney World’s governing district formally ended their fight over control of the government district. Under the deal, the DeSantis appointees committed the district to making infrastructure improvements in exchange for Disney investing up to $17 billion into Disney World over the next two decades.
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Mike Schneider’s book, “Mickey and the Teamsters: A Fight for Fair Unions at Disney,” was published in October by the University Press of Florida. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney workers are suing their employer, claiming they were fraudulently induced to relocate to work in a new office campus only to have those plans later scrapped amid a fight between the entertainment giant and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In July 2021, the Disney Parks’ chief informed workers in California that most white-collar employees would be transferred to the new campus in Orlando to consolidate different teams and allow for greater collaboration.
Employees in digital technology, finance, and product development departments would be transferred to the campus located about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the giant Walt Disney World theme park resort, the company said at the time.
Many workers were reluctant to make the move given their longstanding ties to Southern California and fears of uprooting their families, but Disney encouraged the move by promising a state-of-the-art, centralized workplace and greater affordability in central Florida, according to the class action lawsuit filed earlier this week.
“In sum, employees were incentivized to move through a combination of reward and punishment,” the lawsuit said. “An employee could choose to move to a better life in Florida, or alternatively, choose not to move and be terminated by Disney.”
By late 2021, as large numbers of Disney employees resisted relocating, Disney told them to put their moving plans on hold. Meanwhile, a group of workers who had decided to relocate, including the lead plaintiffs, Maria De La Cruz and George Fong, sold their California homes with the understanding that the company expected them to make the move, and they purchased homes in central Florida, the lawsuit said.
Fong, who works as a creative director of product design, sold his childhood home which he had inherited.
By June 2022, though, Disney leaders told the California workers that the opening of the new Orlando campus was being delayed and that they could postpone moving until 2026 but were still encouraged to relocate by 2024.
By this time, DeSantis had clashed with the company over its public opposition to a Florida law which restricts discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. With the help of Republicans in the Florida Legislature, DeSantis revamped the governing district for Walt Disney World and took control in early 2023. Before the DeSantis takeover, the governing district had been controlled by supporters of Disney for more than five decades.
By May 2023, Disney told its workers that the plans to open the $1 billion campus in Orlando were being scrapped and that the workers who had moved to Florida could move back to California if they chose.
According to the lawsuit, many of the workers who had moved to Florida were worried about their job security if they didn’t relocate back to California since most of their team members were still there and the company lacked the facilities in Florida to accommodate the teams.
After the decision to pull the plug on the Orlando campus, housing prices surrounding the campus dropped and the price of housing in California continued to increase, just as mortgage interest rates also rose higher in 2023. Fong and De La Cruz, a vice president of product design, have moved back or plan to move back to California and are seeking undisclosed economic and punitive damages.
“Other similarly situated individuals have been forced to purchase or rent less desirable housing upon their return to California,” the lawsuit said.
Disney didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on Friday.
Earlier this month, Disney and the DeSantis appointees to Disney World’s governing district formally ended their fight over control of the government district. Under the deal, the DeSantis appointees committed the district to making infrastructure improvements in exchange for Disney investing up to $17 billion into Disney World over the next two decades.
___
Mike Schneider’s book, “Mickey and the Teamsters: A Fight for Fair Unions at Disney,” was published in October by the University Press of Florida. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.
NEW YORK (AP) — Weekend number two was just as joyous for
The Pixar sequel collected $100 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, setting a new record for an animated movie in its follow-up frame in theaters. The previous best second weekend for an animated title was . Only six movies ever have had better second weekends.
In just a week and a half, “Inside Out 2” has become 2024’s highest-grossing film to date with $724.4 million globally, including $355.2 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters. That surpasses the $711.8 million worldwide total of . “Inside Out 2” will likely blow through the $1 billion mark in about a week, which would make it the first film to do so.
The extent of the “Inside Out 2” success startled Hollywood, which had grown accustomed to lower expectations as the film industry watched ticket sales this year slump about 40% below pre-pandemic totals, according to data firm Comscore, before “Inside Out 2” came along.
The record haul for “Inside Out 2,” though, recalled past years when $1 billion grosses were more commonplace for the Walt Disney Co. It is also a much-needed blockbuster for Pixar, which after , reconsidered its movie pipeline and approach to mass-audience appeal.
Now, “Inside Out 2,” which dipped a mere 35% from its , is poised to challenge “The Incredibles 2” ($1.2 billion) for the all-time top-grossing Pixar release. It could also steer the venerated animation factory toward more sequels. Among its upcoming films is “Toy Story 5,” due out in 2026.
For theater owners, “Inside Out 2” could hardly have been more needed. But it also reminded exhibitors of how feast-or-famine the movie business has become in recent years. Since the pandemic, movies like “Barbie,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Top Gun: Maverick” have pushed ticket sales to record heights, but fallow periods in between box-office sensations have grown longer. Ticket sales over Memorial Day last month
Some of 2024’s downturn can be attributed to release-schedule juggling caused by . The biggest new release over the weekend was Jeff Nichols’ motorcycle gang drama , a film originally slated to open in 2023 before the actors' strike prompted its postponement.
“The Bikeriders,” starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, and Tom Hardy, came in on the high side of expectations with $10 million from 2,642 venues in its opening weekend. “The Bikeriders,” which cost about $35 million to produce, was originally to be released by Disney before New Regency took it to Focus Features last fall.
The strong business for “Inside Out 2” appeared to raise ticket sales generally. Sony Pictures’ held well in its third week of release, collecting $18.8 million. It remained in second place. The “Bad Boys” sequel, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, has grossed $146.9 million domestically thus far.
Next week, the sci-fi horror prequel “A Quiet Place: Day One” and Kevin Costner’s Western epic will hope some of the “Inside Out 2” success rubs off on them.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Inside Out 2,” $100 million.
2. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” $18.8 million.
3. “The Bikeriders,” $10 million.
4. “The Garfield Movie,” $3.6 million.
5. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” $3.6 million.
6. “If,” $2.8 million.
7. “The Exorcism,” $2.4 million.
8. “Thelma,” $2.2 million.
9. “The Watchers,” $1.9 million.
10. “Ghost: Rite Here Rite Now,” $1.5 million.
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