Disney employees in California sue for being paid less than fast food workers

More than 100 Disney hotel maintenance workers responsible for keeping the company’s luxury hotels operational in Southern California are suing the entertainment giant for allegedly paying them less than fast food workers in the state and forced them to work a second undeclared job despite working overtime. .

“Many of us have or have had second jobs just to survive,” lead plaintiff Charlie Torres told FOX Business. “I was working 48+ hours a week in the mornings at Disney and delivering pizzas five nights a week for Pizza Hut.”

Amid a regional housing crisis and soaring inflation, workers charged with keeping four-star hotels up to the standards of wealthy guests are struggling to get by, according to Ron Zambrano, Torres’ lawyer.

“Large chain franchise owners have to pay at least $20 an hour to everyone who works there,” said Zambrano, a partner at West Coast Trial Lawyers in Los Angeles. “So they make less than people who work at McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s.”

Before getting the top-paying maintenance job, Torres said he worked for Disney’s food and beverage division, where the union ran its own food bank for its members.

A key point in the lawsuit is that Disney allegedly required workers to provide their own tools, which under California law means they would have to be paid double the state’s minimum hourly wage of $15.50. dollars.

“Why doesn’t Disney just have a warehouse of tools that people can use?” » asked Zambrano.

Some made as little as $17.50 an hour, he said. Disney also allegedly skimped on overtime and prevented workers from taking legally guaranteed lunch breaks during the workday or paying them for their work during meals.

Meanwhile, Disney charges hundreds of dollars per night, depending on location. Some rooms started at more than $500, according to an online search. Others cost more than $800.

When hired, employees were asked to spend hundreds of dollars on a set of required hand tools and replace them at their own expense several times a year, Zambrano said.

“That’s a lot of money, half of your groceries for the month,” Zambrano said. “It’s an incredible thing to have asked these guys, considering the amount of revenue these hotels generate.”

The class-action complaint, filed Friday, also alleges that Disney failed to provide final paychecks on time to workers who were fired or quit. FOX Business has reached out to Disney for comment.

The lawsuit focuses on unpaid wages, with interest and legal costs, from Disney, which has also been criticized for its treatment of theme park employees, some of whom allegedly decided to live in their cars to make ends meet. ends.

One died in her car in 2016, the Orange County Register reported. Because Yeweinishet Mesfin did not have a listed address, it took 20 days from the time she was reported missing to find her, according to the newspaper.

Torres said he worked alongside him.

“She was doing night shift work and we were talking,” he said. “She died in her car. No one knew she was homeless and living in her car. But I know it happens, and I’ve heard of many employees who do this.