Lawsuit accuses Disney of paying female employees less than male counterparts

BURBANK, Calif. (FOX 11) - The Walt Disney Co. is facing allegations of pay discrimination after at least two employees have taken legal action.

A class action firm based in San Francisco, filed the lawsuit in LA County Superior Court Tuesday, claiming the company systematically pays women less than their male counterparts.

The firm of Andrus Anderson LLP is now seeking to represent any woman employed by the Walt Disney Studios in California since 2015 who may have had similar experiences in the workplace.

Two plaintiffs are named in the lawsuit. According to the complaint, LaRonda Rasmussen has been working as a financial analyst for over a decade. She claims six men with the same job title made up to $40,000 more per year.

Attorneys representing Rasmussen say when the issue was brought to Disney's attention, she received a long-overdue raise, but is still earning $5,000 less than the average man holding the same title.

The law firm says multiple other women at Disney report earning far less than their male counterparts, including Karen Moore, another plaintiff in the case who alleges she was discouraged from applying for a manager position despite her qualifications.

Andrus Anderson LLP successfully settled a $4 million pay discrimination lawsuit in 2016 against Farmers Insurance, which required the company to distribute back pay for nearly 300 female employees and forced the company to change their policies regarding pay transparency.