It’s not often you think of Disney as a business that would discriminate. Your opinion may change, however, after reading about this lawsuit a 26-year-old veteran of the company has now filed. He claims he was replaced with a younger worker due to his age, and now he wants answers for his wrongful termination.
According to the news from June 11, the man filing the lawsuit is a former director of the Story Department at Walt Disney Studios. He had worked at Disney with no issues, according to his report, for close to 26 years. He’s arguing that he was fired under false pretenses, which he claims was illegal.
He filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court in California that seeks unspecified damages. He claims that Disney claimed that his position had been eliminated at the company due to the fact that the company was making fewer movies, which the man argues is not true. Earlier this year, he decided to take Disney to court when he found out that an individual in her late 20s or early 30s had replaced him in a position that was substantially similar to his.
Disney argued that the position was different, but he argues that it was similar enough that he should have been considered for the position. When he asked why he was being let go and for the company to reconsider, he was allegedly denied the opportunity to discuss his termination with his employer. His lawsuit claims that Disney often terminated long-term employees and replaces them with younger employees with less experience.
As a result of being fired, the man has suffered from damages including lost earnings, benefits and out-of-pocket expenses, according to the lawsuit. It asks for further damages for the loss of future earnings and for an amount to be awarded that may prevent this from taking place again.
Source: Deadline.com, “Disney Slammed In Discrimination Suit By 26-Year Veteran Studio Exec” Dominic Patten, Jun. 11, 2014