Disney to pay $3.8 million to park workers charged for their costumes

GrumpyFan

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thought this was interesting, and a bit of a "bad show" for Disney. Nice to see that CMs will get some relief on it though!

http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/17/news/companies/disney-workers-back-pay/

Disney can't charge the actors who dress up as characters for their costumes -- at least not if it pushes their hourly pay below minimum wage.

That's according to the Department of Labor, which is forcing Disney to pay 16,339 Florida workers a total of $3.8 million in back wages, according to a press release issued Friday.

The payouts will go to people who work at Disney (DIS) Vacation Club Management Corp. and the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts -- which include Florida's Disney World.

The government said the company violated wage laws by deducting a "uniform or costume" expense from the paychecks of some employees, causing their effective wages to fall below the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 per hour.

The labor department also said Disney did not compensate employees for the time they spent performing "pre-shift" duties, and that the resorts failed to adequately record time and payroll records.

"These violations are not uncommon and are found in other industries, as well," said Daniel White, district director for the department's Wage and Hour Division in Jacksonville, Florida. "Employers cannot make deductions that take workers below the minimum wage, and must accurately track and pay for all the hours their employees work, including any time they work before or after their scheduled shifts."

Disney could not be immediately reached for comment. The labor department said the company was "very cooperative" throughout its investigation.

 

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
This is very strange to me. I had good friends who were "on stage" cast members when I lived in Florida and they never had paycheck deductions for their costumes. They had to buy their own shoes, but everything else was provided free of charge. The only exceptions I can think of were people who lost or damaged what was issued them.
 

DisneyDebRob

Well-Known Member
They sho
This is very strange to me. I had good friends who were "on stage" cast members when I lived in Florida and they never had paycheck deductions for their costumes. They had to buy their own shoes, but everything else was provided free of charge. The only exceptions I can think of were people who lost or damaged what was issued them.
They should not even have to buy their own shoes.
 

GrumpyFan

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The Orlando Sentinel provided a little more information.

The agreement covers almost 700 employees who worked at Old Key West Resort since November 2013. An additional 15,000 employees working at other Florida resorts since January 2015 will also receive compensation.

Disney said in a statement “the Department of Labor has identified a group of cast members who may have performed work outside of their scheduled shift, and we will be providing a one-time payment to resolve this. We are adjusting our procedures to avoid this in the future.”

The agreement calls for increased training of managers about what constitutes “compensable work time.” The training will cover activities such as signing out keys and logging onto computers.

Disney will provide the back pay by July 31.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-disney-wages-labor-violations-20170317-story.html
 

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
They should not even have to buy their own shoes.
Maybe, but that doesn't address my question. The article specifically mentions payroll deductions. The people who were buying their own shoes were going to the store and paying for them. They weren't getting money withheld from their paychecks to "buy" shoes from Disney.
 

DisneyDebRob

Well-Known Member
Maybe, but that doesn't address my question. The article specifically mentions payroll deductions. The people who were buying their own shoes were going to the store and paying for them. They weren't getting money withheld from their paychecks to "buy" shoes from Disney.
Sorry, wasn't even thinking about your question.. just saw that they pay for their own footwear and it hit a nerve.
 

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Well, they did this. There's no questioning it, really. Are you boycotting?
'Would' and 'will', they are different words. Disney has been forced to undo their below legal minumum wage payments so obviously we should boycott just as much as we should boycott Carolina cotton for slavery.

I am old-fashioned, middle class, a law-abiding citizen to boot. It won't take much for America to well and truly become a banana republic where the mighty can break the law and get away with it too. Or worse yet, twist the law to their ends. And then it has found itself just another third world dump, where the arrogant few spend exorbitant prices on a drink and a cabana, served by grossly underpaid, disrespected, lawless workers.
 
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