Employees Suing Walt Disney Company Over Canceled Move From California to Florida

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Employees Suing Walt Disney Company Over Canceled Move From California to Florida

The reversal of Walt Disney Company’s plan to relocate 2,000 California workers to Florida is still causing problems for the company. The decision to scrap the move, which was initially announced in 2021, came after Bob Iger returned as CEO last year.

Related – Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle Issues Statement on Lake Nona Campus Cancellation

In 2021, Disney caused a stir with plans to move 2,000 employees from California to Florida. This included their famous Imagineers who design Disney theme parks and resorts. The move was meant to benefit from Florida’s tax breaks, but many employees weren’t happy about uprooting their lives from Southern California. The plan was eventually scrapped after Disney’s leadership changed.

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Now, some angry Disney employees who uprooted their lives for the move are suing the company.


A lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges Disney misled and pressured employees into relocating to Florida. The lawsuit claims numerous employees, including plaintiffs Maria De La Cruz and George Fong (both current Disney employees), sold their homes in Los Angeles and moved to Central Florida based on the company’s promise of job relocation.

According to the lawsuit, Disney led employees to believe their jobs would be transferred to Florida and that refusing the move could lead to termination. The lawsuit details that De La Cruz and Fong agreed to the relocation in November 2021, with Disney allegedly giving affected employees only 90 days to decide. Further details, like De La Cruz selling her Altadena home in May 2022, are included in the lawsuit to support the claim of disrupted lives due to Disney’s alleged misleading practices.

A year after they had sold their houses and moved, Disney canceled the project.

The lawsuit aims to become a class action, representing all California Disney employees, current or former, who uprooted their lives and moved to Florida because of Disney’s plans for the Lake Nona project. The suit seeks unspecified damages to punish Disney for its actions.

While Disney admitted some employees had already relocated to Florida when they scrapped the move, the lawsuit alleges the company’s offered compensation packages weren’t enough to make up for the disruption. The lawsuit suggests Disney didn’t adequately address the situation for those who uprooted their lives based on the company’s promises.

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Sara is a travel agent with Destinations to Travel, a Disney Earmarked agency. She lives in Alaska with her husband and 3 kids. Due to her extreme dislike of winter, she travels often to warmer destinations during the colder months. She visits the Disney parks and resorts frequently with her family and loves helping other families plan magical vacations. Contact her here for help with your vacation!
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