Checks in the Rasmussen v. TWDC settlement payout began mailing on January 27, 2026. The settlement administrator, CPT Group Inc., is sending paper checks automatically to the address each class member has on file, and no claim form is required. The $43.25 million fund resolves a gender pay discrimination class action brought by roughly 9,000 female Disney employees in California, and a Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted final approval on September 15, 2025.
How Much You Will Receive
Every class member is guaranteed at least $200. Beyond that floor, individual amounts vary based on job level, tenure, and pay history, following an allocation plan developed by the plaintiffs’ labor economist, Dr. David Neumark.1Top Class Actions. 43.25M Disney Gender Discrimination Class Action Settlement His statistical model identified a 0.58% pay shortfall for the Equal Pay Act class and a 2.01% shortfall for the broader Fair Employment and Housing Act settlement class, and those figures drive the proportional shares each member receives.2ClassAction.org. Rasmussen v. The Walt Disney Company Settlement Memorandum
Women who worked in a covered position on or after July 15, 2018, also receive a separate, equal share of a $62,500 fund set aside under the California Private Attorneys General Act.3Claim Depot. Rasmussen v. TWDC Settlement
The $43.25 million is non-reversionary, so Disney cannot recover any unclaimed money. Court-approved deductions come off the top before class payments:
- Attorneys’ fees up to $14,416,666.67 (one-third of the fund).
- Litigation expenses up to $1,800,000.
- Settlement administration of about $100,000.
- Service awards of $90,000 total for the nine named plaintiffs.
- A $250,000 PAGA payment, with 75% going to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency and 25% split among eligible employees.4Rasmussen v. TWDC Settlement. Class Notice
Who the Payments Are Going To
The settlement class covers women who worked for certain Disney-related companies in California between April 1, 2015, and December 28, 2024, in full-time, non-union, salaried positions below the level of vice president.5Rasmussen v. TWDC Settlement. Official Settlement Website Hulu, ESPN, and Pixar employees are excluded from the class definition, so women who worked only at those entities will not receive a payment.6Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC. Settlement Agreement The court identified at least 8,900 class members at certification in December 2023, and later reporting placed the figure at roughly 9,000.7The Hollywood Reporter. Disney 43 Million Class Action Settlement Womens Pay Disparities
How Long You Have to Cash Your Check
Checks are valid for 180 days from issuance. Any funds left uncashed after that window will be transferred to the California State Controller’s Unclaimed Property Fund, where they can still be claimed but through a separate state process.2ClassAction.org. Rasmussen v. The Walt Disney Company Settlement Memorandum
Updating Your Address or Checking on a Missing Check
If you’ve moved since leaving Disney or your check hasn’t arrived, contact CPT Group directly. Payments go to the address on file, so an outdated address is the most common reason a class member doesn’t receive one.
- Mail: Rasmussen v. The Walt Disney Co., c/o CPT Group Inc., 50 Corporate Park, Irvine, CA 92606.
- Phone: 1-888-801-2208.
- Email: RasmussenvTWDC@cptgroup.com.
- Online: RasmussenvTWDCSettlement.com.3Claim Depot. Rasmussen v. TWDC Settlement
What the Settlement Resolves
The case began when LaRonda Rasmussen and Karen Moore filed the original complaint on April 2, 2019, in Los Angeles County Superior Court (Case No. 19STCV10974), alleging Disney’s centralized compensation system, including its historical practice of using prior salary to set starting pay, produced gender-based pay gaps across the company.8Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. Rasmussen v. Walt Disney Company The claims rested on the California Equal Pay Act, the Fair Employment and Housing Act, the Unfair Competition Law, and PAGA.9Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC. Rasmussen et al. v. Walt Disney Company et al. Disney did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
Class counsel was Andrus Anderson LLP, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, and Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho.10Bloomberg Law. Disney Workers Reach 43 Million Deal to End Equal Pay Claims The nine named plaintiffs separately negotiated individual settlements totaling roughly $1.16 million to resolve personal promotion-denial claims distinct from the class fund.11ClassAction.org. Rasmussen v. The Walt Disney Company Settlement Agreement